Phenanthroimidazole-based thiobenzamide as an effective sensor for highly selective detection of mercury(II)

Based on highly selective and irreversible Hg²⁺-promoted desulfurization reaction, a new and simple phenanthroimidazole-type sensor was prepared and exhibited high selectivity towards Hg²⁺ ion over other metal ions, accompanied by transformation of a weakly fluorescent thioamide moiety (colorless) to a highly fluorescent amide one (blue), with a 136-fold increase in fluorescent intensity in aqueous solution with a pH span 2.57–9.12.     

Pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines: Discovery and preliminary SAR of a novel series of DYRK1B and DYRK1A inhibitors

DYRK1B is a kinase over-expressed in certain cancer cells (including colon, ovarian, pancreatic, etc.). Recent publications have demonstrated inhibition of DYRK1B could be an attractive target for cancer therapy. From a data-mining effort, the team has discovered analogues of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines as potent enantio-selective inhibitors of DYRK1B. Cells treated with a tool compound from this series showed the same cellular effects as down regulation of DYRK1B with siRNA. Such effects are consistent with the proposed mechanism of action. Progress of the SAR study is presented.     

Phylogeography of Sophora davidii (Leguminosae) across the ‘Tanaka‐Kaiyong Line’, an important phytogeographic boundary in Southwest China

The ‘Tanaka‐Kaiyong Line’ (TKL) is a major phytogeographic boundary in Southwest China, separating East Asia's Sino‐Himalayan and Sino‐Japanese Floras. However, little is known about the importance of this boundary in promoting intraspecific phylogeographic subdivision and divergence. Using chloroplast (cpDNA) and nuclear‐intron (nDNA) sequence data, we reconstructed the population history of Sophora davidii, a drought‐tolerant riparian shrub widely distributed on either side of the TKL. Specifically, we aimed at testing two long‐standing explanations for possible vicariant events across the TKL: (i) Late Pliocene (c. 3 Ma) geological uplift of the eastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP) or (ii) a sharp environmental gradient associated with the establishment of different monsoon regimes on either side of the TKL during the (Late) Pleistocene. Our genealogical analyses detected a major west–east split in cpDNA, geographically largely consistent with the TKL, and dated to c. 1.28 Ma (95% HPD: 0.21–2.96 Ma), hence postdating the latest phase of eastern QTP uplift. Furthermore, integrating cpDNA phylogeographic patterns with mismatch analyses, we found multiple refugial isolation and long‐term demographic stability of populations in the west (Hengduan Mountain Range) compared with extensive range expansions in the east, possibly during the last glacial period(s) and followed by differentiation into regional sublineages (southeast: Yunnan‐Guizhou Plateau vs. northeast: Qinling Mts./Loess Plateau). Although nuclear differentiation was less marked, the geographical pattern of nDNA haplotypes provided some further indication of the species' eastward expansion, possibly from source populations located just east of the TKL (lower Jinshajiang region). Overall, the present data reject the geological (tectonic) explanation for the TKL and, instead, provide supportive evidence for its role as a climatically driven barrier to present‐day plant dispersal. In addition, our study highlights changing temperatures and vegetation types during the last glacial period(s), along with aspects of regional topography, to be important determinants of the glacial eastward expansion of S. davidii. In consequence, our study lends support to a ‘glacial out‐of‐Hengduan Mts’. hypothesis for the xerophytic‐riparian flora of Southwest China, which in turn is inconsistent with the traditional view of the TKL as a ‘classical’ vicariant‐biogeographic boundary.     

Activation of a mechanosensitive BK channel by membrane stress created with amphipaths

Some BK channels are activated in response to membrane stretch. However, it remains largely unknown which membrane component transmits forces to the channel and which part of the channel senses the force. Recently, we have shown that a BK channel cloned from chick heart (named SAKCa channel) is a stretch activated channel, while deletion of a 59 amino acids splice insert (STREX) located in the cytoplasmic side, abolishes its stretch-sensitivity. This finding raised a question whether stress in the bilayer is crucial for the mechanical activation of the channel. To address this question we examined the effects of membrane perturbing amphipaths on the stretch activation of the SAKCa channel and its STREX-deletion mutant. We found that both anionic amphipath trinitrophenol (TNP) and cationic amphipath chlorpromazine (CPZ) could dose-dependently activate the channel by leftward shifting the voltage activation curve when applied alone. In contrast, TNP and CPZ compensated each other's effect when applied sequentially. These results can be understood in the framework of the bilayer couple hypothesis, suggesting that stress in the plasma membrane can activate the SAKCa channel. Interestingly, the STREX-deletion mutant channel has much less sensitivity to the amphipaths, suggesting that STREX acts as an intermediate structure that can indirectly convey stress in the membrane to the gate of the SAKCa channel via an unidentified membrane associated protein(s) that can detect or transmit stress in the membrane.     

何首乌不同种质花粉形态及进化趋势研究

采用电镜扫描法,对48份何首乌种质的花粉形态进行了观察和分析。结果表明:何首乌花粉形状主要为椭球形,少量为长椭球形和近球形,部分种质花粉形状正处于椭球形向长椭球形进化的阶段;极面观主要为三裂圆形,部分种质的变异为半球状、四边形、凹陷状或平三角形;赤道面观主要为椭圆形,部分种质为三角形或四边形;萌发沟3条,狭长,几达两极,部分种质的1条或2条萌发沟中部或近极端处隆起,2条或3条萌发沟在极端处相交;表面纹饰为穴状,部分种质的穴中出现小孔。研究结果表明,何首乌物种正处于活跃进化阶段且因区域及生境的差异其进化速度不一致,低纬度地区的种质进化程度较高纬度地区的高,其最初的起源中心可能位于高纬度地区,在向低纬度地区迁移过程中其花粉形态发生了不同程度的变异。     

2012年在上海市发现中国大陆首例输入性D8基因型麻疹病例

本文对中国首例输入性D8基因型麻疹病毒基因特征进行分析。用ELISA法检测血清麻疹病毒IgM抗体;用Vero/Slam细胞对采集的咽拭子标本进行病毒分离,分离到的麻疹毒株用RT-PCR方法扩增其核蛋白基因3′端的部分序列,并对扩增产物进行核苷酸序列测定和分析,以3′端456个核苷酸为目的片段进行基因亲缘性关系分析。结果表明,上海市2012年共报告1 105疑似麻疹病例,其中实验室确诊590例,临床符合病例2例,排除513例,报告发病率为2.52/10万;共采集到984份疑似麻疹病例咽拭子标本,分离到247株麻疹病毒,病毒分离阳性率为25.3%;除Shanghai12-239为D8基因型外,其他均为H1a基因亚型。Shanghai12-239与世界卫生组织(World Health Organization,WHO)参考株(Manchester.UNK30.94(D8)AF280803)核苷酸序列同源性为97.8%,氨基酸序列同源性为98.6%。与WHO其他基因型参考株核苷酸序列同源性为89.6%~94.5%,氨基酸序列同源性为88.7%~95.3%。     

尤溪天然米槠林植物碳氮磷的化学计量特征及其分配格局

以福建尤溪的天然米槠[Castanopsis carlesii(Hemsl.) Hayata]林乔木层、灌木层和草本层的26个主要优势种为研究对象,分析了植物不同器官的C、N和P含量及其比值的差异及相关性,并对不同器官C、N和P含量在不同层次间的分布特征进行了研究.结果显示:同一器官中均为C平均含量最高、P平均含量最低;其中,叶片中C、N和P含量分别为344.95 ～ 486.15、6.26 ～ 19.50和0.18 ～0.62 mg·g-1,C/N、C/P和N/P比分别为22.52 ～61.21、696.64～2 589.72和11.38 ～58.94;根系中的C、N和P含量分别为277.95 ～458.30、1.41 ～12.73和0.13 ～0.44mg·g-1,C/N、C/P和N/P比分别为34.63 ～296.17、731.45 ～3 372.69和8.81 ～34.41;乔木层和灌木层植物枝条中C、N和P含量分别为407.75 ～473.75、3.10 ～7.39和0.09～0.61 mg·g-1,C/N、C/P和N/P比分别为57.43 ～148.15、776.64～5 054.44和7.05 ～48.11;乔木层植物树干中的C、N和P含量分别为432.56 ～463.32、2.67 ～6.35和0.16 ～0.31 mg·g-1,C/N、C/P和N/P比分别为68.12 ～167.73、1 494.58 ～2 860.63和11.35 ～29.06.乔木层植物的不同器官按C含量由高至低依次排序为叶片、枝条、树干、根系,按N和P含量由高至低依次排序为叶片、枝条、根系、树干;灌木层植物的C含量在枝条中最高、根系中最低,N和P含量在叶片中最高、枝条中最低;而草本层植物地上部分的C、N和P含量均高于地下部分.除根系中的N含量与P含量呈极显著正相关外,同一器官的C、N和P含量间均无显著相关性,但与C/N、C/P和N/P比值间大多有极显著的相关性.不同器官的C、N和P含量也因植物所处层次的不同而异,其中乔木层植物叶片中均最高、草本层植物叶片中均最低;乔木层植物全株的C含量最高、N含量最低,草本层植物全株的N含量最高、C含量最低,各层植物全株的P含量比较接近.研究结果表明:尤溪天然米槠林内植物叶片的C、N和P含量均偏低,P缺乏很可能是限制该林分植物生产力的最重要元素.     

Glycine reduces platelet aggregation

It has been demonstrated that a wide variety of white blood cells and macrophages (i.e. Kupffer cells, alveolar and peritoneal macrophages and neutrophils) contain glycine-gated chloride channels. Binding of glycine on the receptor stimulates Cl^? influx causing membrane hyperpolarization that prevents agonist-induced influx of calcium. Since platelet-aggregation is calcium-dependent, this study was designed to test the hypothesis that glycine would inhibit platelet aggregation. Rats were fed diets rich of glycine for 5 days, while controls received isonitrogenous valine. The bleeding time and ADP- and collagen-induced platelet aggregation were measured. Dietary glycine significantly increased bleeding time about twofold compared to valine-treated controls. Furthermore, the amplitude of platelet aggregation stimulated with ADP or collagen was significantly decreased in whole blood drawn from rats fed 2.5 or 5 % dietary glycine by over 50 %. Addition of glycine in vitro (1–10 mM) also blunted rat platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner. Strychnine, a glycine receptor antagonist, abrogated the inhibitory effect of glycine on platelet-aggregation in vitro suggesting the glycine works via a glycine receptor. Glycine also blunted aggregation of human platelets. Further, the glycine receptor was detected in both rat and human platelets by western blotting. Based on these data, it is concluded that glycine prevents aggregation of platelets in a dose-dependent manner via mechanisms involving a glycine receptor.     

Genetic Structure and Aggressiveness of Rhizoctonia solani AG1‐IA,the Cause of Sheath Blight of Rice in Southern China

One hundred and eighty isolates of Rhizoctonia solani AG1‐IA, the causal agent of rice sheath blight, were obtained from six locations in southern China. The genetic structure of R. solani isolates was investigated using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, and a considerable genetic variation among R. solani isolates was observed. Most of the genetic diversity was distributed within populations, rather than among them. The distribution pattern of the genetic variation of R. solani appears to be the result of high gene flow (Nm) and low‐genetic differentiation among populations. The aggressiveness of R. solani was visually assessed by rice seedlings of five different cultivars in the glasshouse. All isolates tested were found to induce significantly different levels of disease severity, reflecting considerable variation in aggressiveness. The isolates were divided into highly virulent, moderately virulent and weakly virulent groups, and the moderately virulent isolates were dominant in R. solani population. No significant correlation was observed among the genetic similarity, pathogenic aggressiveness and geographical origins of the isolates. Information obtained from this study may be useful for breeding for improved resistance to sheath blight.     

兔食管静脉曲张模型的建立

目的建立新西兰兔的食管静脉曲张模型,为下一步的临床研究提供可靠的小型动物模型。方法采用门静脉左支完全夹闭法造模,并通过外观、超声、胃镜等检查检验手段对造模结果加以评估。结果术后8周存活动物100%可见食管静脉曲张。结论通过门静脉左支夹闭法,基本可以建立兔食管静脉曲张模型。