利用癌功能类从癌基因组突变谱中识别癌基因

从大规模癌样本基因突变扫查数据中识别癌基因具有重要的意义. 一些重要功能的改变对于癌的发生发展是必需的, 因此将它们定义为癌功能类, 并从GO(Gene Ontology)中选择一组显著富集已知癌基因的细致功能类来代表它们. 为了评价以癌相关功能类作为特征识别癌基因的效果, 将已知的蛋白激酶癌基因定义为阳性金标准, 而将其他的蛋白激酶基因定义为阴性金标准. 结果表明, 与利用选择压力作为特征的方法比较, 利用癌相关功能类作为特征的方法可以更有效地识别癌基因. 进一步结合癌相关功能类与基因非同义突变个数可以产生更可靠的预测结果. 最后, 将46个注释到癌相关功能类并且其非同义突变个数至少为3的蛋白激酶基因预测为癌基因, 预测精确率达到0.42.     

Cardiac mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel is activated by nitric oxide in vitro

Previous observations on the activation of the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel (mitoK(ATP)) by nitric oxide (NO) in myocardial preconditioning were based on indirect evidence. In this study, we have investigated the direct effect of NO on the rat cardiac mitoK(ATP) after reconstitution of the inner mitochondrial membranes into lipid bilayers. We found that the mitoK(ATP) was activated by exogenous NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl penicillamine or PAPA NONOate. This activation was inhibited by mitoK(ATP) blockers 5-hydroxydecanoate or glibenclamide. Our observations confirm that NO can directly activate the cardiac mitoK(ATP), which may underlie its contribution to myocardial preconditioning.     

An arabinogalactan isolated from the stems of Cistanche deserticola induces the proliferation of cultured lymphocytes

A purified polysaccharide ACDP-2 was isolated from water extract of the stems of Cistanche deserticola. Chemical and spectroscopic analyses indicated that ACDP-2 is a highly branched arabinogalactan polymer that composes of linked d-galactopyranose and d-glucopyranose, which contains predominantly a branching point at the 6-carbon. The branched side-chains compose of terminal-, 1,5-, and 1,3,5-linked arabinofuranosyl residues. ACDP-2 showed an effect in stimulating the immune response, which when applied onto the cultured mouse lymphocytes induced the cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner.     

The Component and Functional Pathways of Gut Microbiota are Altered in Populations with Poor Sleep Quality – A Preliminary Report

With the development of genome sequencing, many researchers have investigated the mechanism by which the intestinal microbiota influences sleep across the brain-gut axis. However, the relationship between gut microbiota and sleep disorder remains unclear. Thus, we studied the difference in gut microbiota composition between poor sleep quality- and normal populations, which helps set the ground for future research. The recruited college students provided baseline information and stool samples and completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). We compared the two groups’ gut microbiota composition and functional differentiation by using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. The main bacterial difference and the most critical effect were mainly concentrated within Tenericutes and Elusimicrobia. Compared with the healthy control group, some functions of the gut microbiota were impaired in the poor sleep quality group, such as butanoate metabolism and propanoate metabolism. Bacterial taxa with significant differences raised the possibility for future diagnosis and treatment of sleep problems.     

月季体细胞无性系及其在品种选育中的可能应用

文章介绍月季的体细胞无性系诱导和植株再生,主要包括月季体细胞无性系再生的类型、影响因素及其在育种中应用的研究进展。     

Design Method of a Broadband Wide-Angle Plasmonic Absorber in the Visible Range

A new design method of a broadband wide-angle metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic absorber is presented based on the cavity mode theory. The broadband absorption is implemented by filling a unit cell with multi-size square metal patches resonant at adjacent wavelengths, with the widths of the patches and thickness of the dielectric layer optimized with the presented method. A broadband plasmonic absorber working in the visible range is designed, the absorption of which is insensitive to the azimuth angle of incident field and keeps over 0.7 at incident angle up to 60° for p polarization and above 0.6 at up to 40° for s polarization.