Molecular phylogeny and biogeographic diversification of Parthenocissus (Vitaceae) disjunct between Asia and North America

? Premise of the study: Parthenocissus is a genus of the grape family Vitaceae and has a disjunct distribution in Asia and North America with members in both tropical and temperate regions. The monophyly of Parthenocissus has not yet been tested, and the species relationships and the evolution of its intercontinental disjunction have not been investigated with extensive sampling and molecular phylogenetic methods. ? Methods: Plastid (trnL-F, rps16, and atpB-rbcL) and nuclear GAI1 sequences of 56 accessions representing all 12 Parthenocissus species were analyzed with parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian inference. Divergence times of disjunct lineages were estimated with relaxed Bayesian dating. Evolution of the leaflet number was assessed by tracing this character onto Bayesian trees using the Trace Character Over Trees option in the program Mesquite. ? Key results: Parthenocissus is monophyletic and sister to the newly described segregate genus Yua. Two major clades within Parthenocissus are recognizable corresponding to their distribution in Asia and North America. The disjunction between the two continents is estimated to be at 21.64 (95% higher posterior densities 10.23-34.89) million years ago. ? Conclusions: Parthenocissus is likely to have derived from the Eocene boreotropical element. Its current Asian-North American disjunction is dated to the early Miocene, congruent with fossil and paleoclimatic evidence. The tropical species is nested within the temperate clade and is inferred to have dispersed from the adjacent temperate regions. Parthenocissus and Yua are best treated as distinct genera. Leaflet number in this genus has a complex history and cannot be used as a character for infrageneric classification.     

举证责任倒置对医生影响的调查分析

目的:了解举证责任倒置实施以来,该政策对医生的影响及实施中存在的问题。方法:应用自制问卷,对青岛、西安两地9家三甲综合性医院共256名医生进行问卷调查,运用spss16.0进行统计分析。结果:举证责任倒置一方面给医生的医疗行为带来了积极影响,另一方面也给医生带来了较大的心理压力,尤其是发生过纠纷、被起诉的医生,对其以后的行为产生了消极影响。结论:医院除应加强对医生医疗技术、法律知识培训外,还应成立专门的机构来缓解医生的心理压力,解除其心理问题。     

Polymorphisms in PPARD, PPARG and APM1 associated with four types of Traditional Chinese Medicine constitutions

Based on the theory of constitution of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the human population is divided into nine constitutions including one balanced constitution (Normality) and eight unbalanced constitutions (Yang-deficiency, Yin-deficiency, Phlegm-wetness, Qi-deficiency, Wetness-heat, Blood stasis, Depressed constitution, and Inherited special constitution). Different constitutions have specific metabolic features and different susceptibility to certain diseases. However, whether a genetic basis accounts for such constitution classification is yet to be determined. Here we performed a genetic study to assess the association between genetic variations of metabolic genes including PPARD, PPARG and APM1 and the constitutions. A total of 233 individuals of the Han population in China were classified into four groups, Normality, Yang-deficiency, Yin-deficiency and Phlegm-wetness with whom 23 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the three genes were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Biased distribution of PPARD rs2267669 and rs2076167, APM1 rs7627128 and rs1063539 in Yang-deficiency, PPARG Pro12Ala in Yin-deficiency and PPARD rs2076167, APM1 rs266729 and rs7627128 in Phlegm-wetness were observed. The frequencies of Haplotype13 (Hap13) of PPARG in Yin-deficiency, Hap25 of APM1 in Yang-deficiency and Hap2 of PPARD and Hap14 of PPARG in Phlegm-wetness, were significantly different from those in Normality, suggesting those might be group-associated haplotypes. These results suggested that single SNP and haplotypes of PPARD, PPARG and APM1 may underlie the genetic basis of the constitutions classified in TCM.     

Do plants modulate biomass allocation in response to petroleum pollution?

Biomass allocation is an important plant trait that responds plastically to environmental heterogeneities. However, the effects on this trait of pollutants owing to human activities remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the response of biomass allocation of Phragmites australis to petroleum pollution by a ¹³CO₂ pulse-labelling technique. Our data show that plant biomass significantly decreased under petroleum pollution, but the root–shoot ratio for both plant biomass and ¹³C increased with increasing petroleum concentration, suggesting that plants could increase biomass allocation to roots in petroleum-polluted soil. Furthermore, assimilated ¹³C was found to be significantly higher in soil, microbial biomass and soil respiration after soils were polluted by petroleum. These results suggested that the carbon released from roots is rapidly turned over by soil microbes under petroleum pollution. This study found that plants can modulate biomass allocation in response to petroleum pollution.     

高原低氧免疫损伤及其干预措施的研究

目的:探讨高原低氧损伤免疫系统的特征及其可能机制,研究高原低氧免疫损伤的干预措施。方法:测定低氧暴露不同时间小鼠免疫器官指数、外周血和免疫器官T淋巴细胞亚群的变化;观察小鼠免疫器官淋巴细胞凋亡率及小鼠肺脏和肾脏病理学改变。采用预防给药方式,研究中药组方对低氧免疫损伤小鼠的干预作用。结果:①模拟海拔8000m低氧暴露8h后,小鼠胸腺CD4+CD8+细胞数显著下降,CD4+CD8-、CD4-CD8+细胞数显著增加(P0.01);低氧暴露3d后,外周血CD4+细胞明显减少(P0.05),CD4+/CD8+比值显著降低(P0.05),胸腺CD4+CD8+细胞数进一步下降,CD4+CD8-、CD4-CD8+细胞数进一步增加,小鼠脾脏、胸腺淋巴细胞晚期凋亡和坏死率均显著增加(P0.05);低氧暴露6d后,小鼠脾指数显著性增加(P0.01);胸腺指数显著性降低(P0.01),脾CD4+、CD8+细胞数显著降低(P0.01),脾脏和胸腺淋巴细胞晚期凋亡率和坏死率进一步增加(P0.01),活细胞率显著降低(P0.01),脾脏淋巴细胞早期凋亡率显著增加(P0.01)。整个低氧暴露过程中外周血CD8+无显著性变化。②新复方党参、香杞多糖、二者联合应用均能显著增加低氧免疫损伤小鼠外周血CD3+、CD4+、脾脏CD4+的细胞水平(P0.01,P0.05),对脾脏CD8+细胞水平没有显著影响。香杞多糖及其与新复方党参联合应用均能进一步降低胸腺CD4+CD8+,进一步增加CD4+CD8-的细胞水平(P0.01),未见对CD4-CD8+细胞水平的影响;新复方党参对低氧免疫损伤小鼠胸腺没有显著性影响。结论:模拟海拔8000m低氧暴露后小鼠外周发挥免疫作用的淋巴细胞数减少可能与低氧暴露早期淋巴细胞凋亡率和坏死率增加和肺脏淋巴细胞分布增多有关。新复方党参和香杞多糖作为低氧免疫损伤干预措施,具有一定发展前景。     

Discovery of TAK-960: An orally available small molecule inhibitor of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1)

Using structure-based drug design, we identified and optimized a novel series of pyrimidodiazepinone PLK1 inhibitors resulting in the selection of the development candidate TAK-960. TAK-960 is currently undergoing Phase I evaluation in adult patients with advanced solid malignancies.     

Molecular chaperone HspB2 inhibited pancreatic cancer cell proliferation via activating p53 downstream gene RPRM,BAI1, and TSAP6

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) were known as the molecular chaperones, which play a pivotal role in the protein quality control system, ensuring correct folding of proteins, and facilitating the correct refolding of damaged proteins via the transient interaction with their substrate proteins. They also practice in the regulation of cell cycles and are involved in apoptosis. We found that HspB2 was almost completely silent in pancreatic cancer and few studies investigated the role of HspB2 in cancer cells, particularly in pancreatic cancer. Here, we reported that HspB2 effectively inhibited cell proliferation in Panc-1 cells. Specifically, we demonstrated that HspB2 could combine mut-p53 and change the DNA binding site of mutant p53, subsequently upregulated the expression of RPRM, BAI-1, and TSAP6 which were the downstream genes of wt-p53, participate in mediating downstream responses to p53, including inhibiting cell proliferation and angiogenesis. The main aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between HspB2 and p53, and provide a novel treatment strategy for pancreatic cancer.     

An anti-inflammatory isoflavone from soybean inoculated with a marine fungus Aspergillus terreus C23-3

ABSTRACT

A new isoflavone derivative compound 1 (psoralenone) was isolated from soybean inoculated with a marine fungus Aspergillus terreus C23-3, together with seven known compounds including isoflavones 2–6, butyrolactone I (7) and blumenol A (8). Their structures were elucidated by MS, NMR, and ECD. Psoralenone displayed moderate in vitro anti-inflammatory activity in the LPS-induced RAW264.7 cell model. Compound 2 (genistein) showed moderate acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity whereas compounds 2, 5 (biochanin A), 6 (psoralenol), and 7 exhibited potent larvicidal activity against brine shrimp. Compounds 3 (daidzein), 4 (4?-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyisoflavone), and 5–7 showed broad-spectrum anti-microbial activity, and compound 7 also showed moderate 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity.     

三种野生和四个栽培棉种的核型研究

作者对棉属 D 组的瑟伯氏棉(Gossypium thurberi)、戴维逊氏棉(C.davidsonii)、雷蒙德氏棉(G.raimondii)、A 组的草棉(G.herbaceum)、中棉(G.arboreum)、AD 组的陆地棉(G.htrsutum)和海岛棉(C.barbadense)等7个种的核型进行了研究。各个种的核型可简式为:瑟伯氏棉2n=2x=26=24m 2Sm(2SAT);戴维逊氏棉20=2x=26=20m 6Sm(4SAT);雷蒙德氏棉2n=2x=26=20m 6Sm(2SAT);草棉2n=2x=26=18m 4Sm 4St(4SAT);中棉2n=2x=26=18m 6Sm(2SAT) 2St(2SAT);陆地棉2n=4x=52=32m 18Sm(4SAT) 2St(2SAT);海岛棉20=4x=52=38m 12Sm(2SAT) 2St(2SAT)。此外,作者对四倍体种的 A 组和 D 组的供体问题进行了讨论。