Application of fuzzy reasoning to control of glucose and ethanol concentrations in baker's yeast culture

Fuzzy reasoning was applied to control both ethanol and glucose concentrations in fed-batch cultures of baker's yeast. This fuzzy controller consisted of three membership functions (concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO), ethanol and glucose) and 18 production rules. Fuzzy inference was carried out by IF {A is a and B is b,...#x007D;, THEN {C is c} from the on-line measured concentrations of DO, ethanol and glucose. When medium concentrations of ethanol and glucose in fed-batch culture of baker's yeast were set at 2 g/l and 0.2 g/l, both ethanol and glucose concentrations were controlled at 2.67±0.35 g/l and 0.27±0.25 g/l, respectively, ethanol production was reduced from 26 g/l to 34 g/l, cell yield increased from 0.38 to 0.53 g dry cell/g consumed glucose and ethanol yield decreased from 0.50 to 0.14 g ethanol/g consumed glucose, respectively, as compared with those of the glucose only control at 0.2 g/l.     

丝胶预处理对糖尿病大鼠睾丸IGF-1表达的影响

目的探讨丝胶预处理对2型糖尿病大鼠睾丸胰岛素样生长因子-1(insulin-like growth factor-1,IGF-1)表达的影响。方法 30只雄性SD大鼠随机分为3组(n=10):正常对照组、糖尿病模型组和丝胶预处理组。链脲佐菌素连续腹腔注射制作2型糖尿病大鼠模型,以血糖≥16.7mmol/L作为成模标准;丝胶预处理组大鼠在注射链脲佐菌素前给予丝胶灌胃(2.4g/kg/d)35d。采用葡萄糖氧化酶法检测血糖,采用ELISA方法检测大鼠血清睾酮和IGF-1水平;分别采用免疫组化染色和RT-PCR法检测睾丸IGF-1蛋白和mRNA的表达。结果丝胶预处理可明显抑制糖尿病大鼠血糖升高,血清睾酮、IGF-1水平的降低,睾丸IGF-1表达的下降(丝胶预处理组与糖尿病模型组比较:P0.01)。结果 丝胶预处理可通过阻止糖尿病大鼠睾丸IGF-1表达的下调,改善生精功能,发挥对糖尿病生殖功能损害的预防保护作用。     

甘肃临夏盆地晚中新世大唇犀化石的年龄结构与生活环境

甘肃临夏盆地的晚中新世红粘土堆积中含有大量的三趾马动物群化石,其中犀科化石,特别是大唇犀最为丰富。通过对临夏盆地晚中新世具有代表性的大唇犀化石的年龄结构的分析,初步了解到化石群各年龄段个体的百分比和种群动态。大唇犀化石中成年个体的数量占优势,明显多于老年个体,与正常生活群中的年龄结构吻合,由此可初步断定是突发性事件引起了犀牛种群的灾害性死亡。再进一步对化石的风化、磨蚀、聚集状态及所受的水动力特征等进行分析,发现骨骼受到了弱水流的短距离搬运,说明化石埋藏地离动物死亡地不远。以上分析结果与沉积学特征相结合,说明临夏盆地晚中新世三趾马动物群的集群死亡可能与严重的干旱化事件有关。     

男性尿道炎患者多形核白细胞计数与解脲脲原体感染的临床相关性分析

本研究旨在检测男性尿道炎患者中尿道多形核白细胞数量,并进行解脲脲原体(Uu)培养,以评价非淋病奈瑟菌性尿道炎的临床意义。将2284例男性性病患者的尿道分泌物涂片,亚甲蓝(美蓝)染色后镜检多形核白细胞,并体外培养尿道分泌物的Uu。结果显示,645例患者(28.2%)Uu培养阳性,其中158例(24.5%)≥5个多形核白细胞,157例(24.3%)1～4个多形核白细胞,330例(51.2%)无多形核白细胞。218例阳性患者(33.8%)无症状,614例阳性患者(95.2%)无体征。男性尿道多形核白细胞数量在Uu培养阳性和阴性患者中存在显著差异(P0.01)。结果提示临床诊断与实验室检查在证实男性非淋病奈瑟菌性尿道炎中具有重要意义。     

西藏21种真菌的血凝活性测定

选用了21种野生真菌,分别以PBS(磷酸缓冲液)浸提,浸提液进行兔红血球血凝活性测定,结果显示:冬虫夏草(Cordyceps sinensis)、蜜环菌(Armillariella mellea)、翘鳞肉齿菌(Sarcodon imbricatus)等不能使兔红血球凝集,显阴性;其余真菌均能使兔红血球凝集,其中以棱柄白马鞍菌(Helvella crispa)和美味牛肝菌(Boletus edulis)效价最高26;盘状马鞍菌(Helvella pezizoids)次之25;其余的均为20～23.取PBS浸提效价较高的6种样品棱柄白马鞍菌、盘状马鞍菌、真姬离褶伞(Lyophyllum shimeji)、红菇腊伞(Hygrophorus russula)、美味牛肝菌、离褶伞(Lyophyllum)等分别用Tris、NaAcetate(乙酸钠)、Glycin(甘氨酸)等不同pH缓冲液浸提,浸提液进行兔红血球血凝活性测定,结果显示:显弱酸性或弱碱性的缓冲液浸提时,浸提液对兔红血球血凝活性效价高于中性缓冲液,浸提真菌样品时最好使用弱酸或弱碱性缓冲液.     

Developmental competence of frozen-thawed yak (Bos grunniens) oocytes followed by in vitro maturation and fertilization

In the present study, we examined the ability of immature germinal vesicle (GV) and subjected to in vitro matured (MII) yak oocytes to survive after cryopreservation as well as their subsequent development following in vitro maturation and fertilization. Both GV and MII oocytes were cryopreserved by using two different vitrification solutions (VS); VS-I contained 10% ethylene glycol (EG) and 10% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) in TCM-199 + 20% (v/v) fetal calf serum (FCS) whereas VS-II contained 40% EG + 18% Ficoll + 0.5 M sucrose in TCM-199 + 20% FCS. The percentage of oocytes found to be morphologically normal was greater (P < 0.01) in VS-I group than in VS-II group. Rates of cleavage (30.6–42.2%) and blastocyst formation (2.9–8.9%) did not differ among groups, but were lower than in unfrozen control (55.7% and 25.4%, P < 0.01). These results show that a combination of EG and DMSO or EG, Ficoll and sucrose can be used to cryopreserve yak oocytes in French straws.     

Peripheral Blood Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number Is Associated with Prostate Cancer Risk and Tumor Burden

Alterations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been associated with the risk of a number of human cancers; however, the relationship between mtDNA copy number in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) and the risk of prostate cancer (PCa) has not been investigated. In a case-control study of 196 PCa patients and 196 age-paired healthy controls in a Chinese Han population, the association between mtDNA copy number in PBLs and PCa risk was evaluated. The relative mtDNA copy number was measured using quantitative real-time PCR; samples from three cases and two controls could not be assayed, leaving 193 cases and 194 controls for analysis. PCa patients had significantly higher mtDNA copy numbers than controls (medians 0.91 and 0.82, respectively; P<0.001). Dichotomized at the median value of mtDNA copy number in the controls, high mtDNA copy number was significantly associated with an increased risk of PCa (adjusted odds ratio  = 1.85, 95% confidence interval: 1.21–2.83). A significant dose-response relationship was observed between mtDNA copy number and risk of PCa in quartile analysis (P_trend = 0.011). Clinicopathological analysis showed that high mtDNA copy numbers in PCa patients were significantly associated with high Gleason score and advanced tumor stage, but not serum prostate-specific antigen level (P = 0.002, 0.012 and 0.544, respectively). These findings of the present study indicate that increased mtDNA copy number in PBLs is significantly associated with an increased risk of PCa and may be a reflection of tumor burden.     

Heterogeneity of Pancreatic Cancer Metastases in a Single Patient Revealed by Quantitative Proteomics

Many patients with pancreatic cancer have metastases to distant organs at the time of initial presentation. Recent studies examining the evolution of pancreatic cancer at the genetic level have shown that clonal complexity of metastatic pancreatic cancer is already initiated within primary tumors, and organ-specific metastases are derived from different subclones. However, we do not yet understand to what extent the evolution of pancreatic cancer contributes to proteomic and signaling alterations. We hypothesized that genetic heterogeneity of metastatic pancreatic cancer results in heterogeneity at the proteome level. To address this, we employed a model system in which cells isolated from three sites of metastasis (liver, lung, and peritoneum) from a single patient were compared. We used a SILAC-based accurate quantitative proteomic strategy combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry to analyze the total proteome and tyrosine phosphoproteome of each of the distal metastases. Our data revealed distinct patterns of both overall proteome expression and tyrosine kinase activities across the three different metastatic lesions. This heterogeneity was significant because it led to differential sensitivity of the neoplastic cells to small molecule inhibitors targeting various kinases and other pathways. For example, R428, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets Axl receptor tyrosine kinase, was able to inhibit cells derived from lung and liver metastases much more effectively than cells from the peritoneal metastasis. Finally, we confirmed that administration of R428 in mice bearing xenografts of cells derived from the three different metastatic sites significantly diminished tumors formed from liver- and lung-metastasis-derived cell lines as compared with tumors derived from the peritoneal metastasis cell line. Overall, our data provide proof-of-principle support that personalized therapy of multiple organ metastases in a single patient should involve the administration of a combination of agents, with each agent targeted to the features of different subclones.Approximately half of the patients with pancreatic cancer are initially diagnosed with metastases to distal sites, with the commonest sites being the liver, lung, and peritoneum (1). Therapeutic strategies against metastases could help reduce the high mortality rates associated with this cancer (2). Understanding the nature of metastatic pancreatic cancer at a systems level can enable the discovery of potential targets for the development of targeted therapies.Pancreatic cancer has been shown to be a genetically evolving and heterogeneous disease (3–5). Clonal diversity and evolution of cancer genomes have also been demonstrated based on the isolation of distinct clonal populations purified directly from patient biopsies by means of flow cytometry followed by genomic characterization (6). A number of reports have documented the adoption of a proteomic approach for the discovery of potential biomarkers in pancreatic cancer (7, 8). However, these studies generally assume pancreatic cancers to be homogeneous, and the emphasis is placed on identifying molecules that are common across a broad array of tumors. There is a lack of studies systematically examining the proteomic changes or signaling pathways across pancreatic cancers to dissect the nature of the heterogeneity of each clone. An excellent setting in which the heterogeneity of tumors can be studied systematically is in a patient harboring metastases to several distant sites. To this end, we chose cells isolated from three metastatic pancreatic lesions of a single patient. The exomes of each tumor site were previously sequenced to study the progression of pancreatic cancer, and the results showed that all cell lines were identical for the genetic status of driver mutations (e.g. KRAS, TP53, and SMAD4) (9). Our hypothesis was that a better understanding of the proteomic consequences of the heterogeneity derived from genetic changes, and possibly other types of alterations, might provide additional opportunities to identify therapeutic targets.In order to precisely quantify differences across the proteomes of multiple metastatic pancreatic cancer lesions, we employed a SILAC-based¹ quantitative proteomics strategy combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry (10, 11). Based on changes observed at the whole-proteome level, we found that a class of cell surface receptors showed significant enrichment with the highest alteration of their expression among the three metastatic pancreatic cancer cell lines examined (i.e. peritoneum, lung, and liver). Because the total protein levels provide information about the static levels of proteins and not their activity per se, we decided to examine the activation of phosphorylation-driven pathways, many of which are activated by cell surface receptors. To globally examine tyrosine phosphorylation-based signaling pathways, we carried out mass spectrometric analysis of purified tyrosine phosphorylated peptides enriched using anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies. As a result, we observed differential activation of tyrosine kinases in the three different sites of metastases. For example, Axl receptor tyrosine kinase was found to be hyperphosphorylated in lung and liver metastases relative to peritoneal metastasis. Expression of Axl receptor tyrosine kinase in primary and matched pancreatic cancers on tissue microarrays was validated by immunohistochemistry. Given such unique patterns of activation of pathways, it was possible that tumors derived from different sites could show differences in their sensitivity to pathway inhibitors. To test this, we performed experiments in which we screened cell lines derived from each metastatic site against a panel of small molecule inhibitors. We observed that the three metastatic pancreatic cancers had differential sensitivities to different inhibitors. For example, cells derived from the peritoneal metastasis were highly sensitive to lapatinib, whereas greater sensitivity to the Axl inhibitor R428 was observed in the lung metastasis cell line. Finally, we showed that treatment of mice bearing xenografts from these different pancreatic cancer cell lines with R428, an inhibitor of Axl receptor tyrosine kinase, led to reduction of tumors with evidence of activation of Axl.     

布氏田鼠摄食量、累积摄食量与日龄的关系

布氏田鼠 (Ｍｉｃｒｏｔｕｓｂｒａｎｄｔｉ)是内蒙古典型草原区的主要害鼠 ,其危害方式主要表现之一为与牲畜争夺牧草资源[1,4 ,11,12 ] 。准确地测定其日食量(ＤＦＣ)与累积摄食量 (ＣＦＣ) ,对于定量地衡量该鼠的危害程度 ,进一步推算鼠害防治的经济阈值有着重要的意义。一些学者着手有关该鼠食性与食量 ,以及非取食性牧草消耗量的研究工作[3 ,7～ 9] 。但由于受实验手段的限制 ,一直未能解决布氏田鼠日食量、累积摄食量与田鼠年龄的关系等难题。本文以测定典型草原区布氏田鼠日食量与体重的关系 ,结合布氏田鼠体重与年龄的数学关系方程 …