Kainic acid on the rostral ventrolateral medulla inhibits phrenic output and CO2 sensitivity

We used the neurotoxin, kainic acid, which is known to stimulate neuronal cell bodies as opposed to axons of passage by binding to specific amino acid receptors to determine whether cells with such receptors have access to the ventrolateral medullary surface and are involved in central ventilatory chemosensitivity. Pledgets with 4.7 mM kainic acid were placed bilaterally on the rostral, intermediate, or caudal ventilatory chemosensitive areas for 1-2 min in chloralose-urethan-anesthetized, paralyzed, vagotomized, glomectomized, and servo-ventilated cats. Application of kainic acid on the caudal or intermediate areas produced no consistent significant effects on eucapnic phrenic output or on the slope or maximum value of the phrenic nerve response to increased end-tidal PCO2. Rostral area kainic acid produced immediate augmentation and then diminution of blood pressure and phrenic output. Apnea developed in six of nine cats by 40 min. In all five cats in which it could be tested, the slope of the CO2 response was clearly decreased. Of [3H]kainic acid applied to the rostral area, 88.4% was shown to be within 2 mm of the ventral surface. Comparison of surface application sites of this and other studies suggests that an area overlapping the border of the original rostral and intermediate areas allows access to neurons involved in the chemoreception process, which may also provide tonic facilitatory input to cardiorespiratory systems.     

植物内生菌生物抗菌活性物质研究进展

植物内生菌作为一种新型的微生物资源,分离和确定其代谢产物是一条寻找新型天然活性物质的重要途径。目前为止,许多研究者从不同的植物内生菌中分离到大量具有抗菌活性的新化合物,这些新的化合物被认为是解决日益严重的微生物多重耐药性的希望之一。本文从植物内生菌的多样性、抗菌活性物质多样性及国内内生菌研究进展等多个角度概述了当前有关植物内生菌研究的主要成果和最新进展,以期为植物内生菌相关研究提供借鉴。     

一株桑树内生拮抗菌的分离、鉴定及发酵条件优化

【目的】利用植物内生拮抗菌防治植物病害是一种有效的生物防治手段。本研究从健康桑树中分离筛选桑椹菌核病拮抗性内生细菌,为桑椹菌核病生物防治提供优良菌种。【方法】釆用组织分离培养法及抑菌圈法分离、筛选桑椹菌核病拮抗性内生细菌;根据菌体形态、培养特征、生理生化特性及基于16S rDNA序列的系统发育分析,对抑菌活性显著且稳定的菌株进行菌种鉴定;进而利用菌丝生长速率法检测活性发酵液的抑菌谱与热稳定性,并通过单因素及正交试验优化该菌株产生抑菌活性物质的发酵条件。【结果】从健康桑树中共分离获得55株内生细菌,其中XP-27菌株对核盘菌PZ-2的抑菌活性稳定且拮抗效果明显;XP-27菌株形态、培养特征、生理生化特性与芽孢杆菌属相符,基于16S rDNA序列的系统发育分析结果显示该菌株与多株甲基营养型芽孢杆菌(Bacillus methylotrophicus)的亲缘关系最近,且处于系统发育树的同一分枝,故将XP-27菌株鉴定为甲基营养型芽孢杆菌,命名为B.methylotrophicusXP-27;抑菌谱与热稳定性实验结果表明XP-27菌株对灰霉菌SWU5、腐霉菌SWU3等10种常见植物病原菌具不同程度的抑制作用,且其发酵滤液热稳定性强;发酵条件优化结果表明该菌株最佳培养基配方与培养条件为:牛肉膏1.00%,淀粉1.50%,K_2HPO_4 0.05%,MgSO_4·7H_2O 0.10%,初始pH值为8.0,培养温度为30°C,接种量为7%,发酵时间为120 h。【结论】筛选获得的桑树内生细菌B. methylotrophicus XP-27对桑椹菌核病病原菌核盘菌PZ-2具有显著拮抗作用,可作为开发桑椹菌核病生防制剂的候选菌株。     

Total Serum IgE in a Population-Based Study of Asian Children in Taiwan: Reference Value and Significance in the Diagnosis of Allergy

Background

Total serum immunoglobulin (IgE) test is usually performed to aid in the diagnosis of allergic diseases, but its reference values may vary among people of different ethnic backgrounds.

Objectives

To establish reference values of total IgE in Asian children and to assess their significance in the diagnosis of atopy and allergic diseases.

Study design

1321 Asian children aged 5-18 years in the Prediction of Allergies in Taiwanese CHildren (PATCH) study, a population-based cohort, were evaluated for total and specific IgE by ImmunoCAP and Phadiatop Infant, respectively.

Results

Male, atopy, allergic diseases, recent symptoms of upper respiratory infection, and lower FEV₁/FVC, were associated with higher total IgE levels in univariate analyses. Multivariate analysis revealed that atopy was the single most important determinant explaining 66.1% of the variability of total IgE levels in this population. The area under the receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve of total IgE for diagnosing atopy, asthma, rhinitis, and eczema were 0.92, 0.72, 0.70, and 0.70, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of total IgE at the optimal cutoff of 77.7 kU/L on the ROC curve for diagnosing atopy were 82.3%, 87.1%, 89.5%, and 78.6%, respectively. The corresponding values using the upper 95% CI of total IgE (164.3 kU/L) in non-atopic children were 61.2%, 95.0%, 94.3%, and 64.6%, respectively; whereas a customary cutoff (100 kU/L) provided accuracy between that of the aforementioned two cutoffs. Total IgE at the cutoff of 77.7 kU/L provided modest sensitivity and specificity (49.0%-78.3%) for diagnosing allergic diseases, but had high negative predictive values (84.2%-97.9%).

Conclusions

Total serum IgE discriminates Asian children with and without atopy independent of allergic symptoms, with an optimal cutoff of 77.7 kU/L. The study confirms the insufficient diagnostic accuracy of total IgE alone to detect allergic diseases, but low total IgE levels may help exclude allergic diseases.     

低碳发展背景下北京市土地利用与生态系统服务多情景模拟研究

在全球气候变化的背景下,合理协调低碳减排与经济效益之间的关系,进而指导土地利用优化配置,对于推动经济社会低碳转型与生态系统服务价值的提升具有重要意义。通过耦合多目标规划(MOP)与斑块生成土地利用模拟模型(PLUS),针对北京市构建了自然演变、经济优先与低碳发展这3种未来发展情景,并对不同情景下2030年土地利用与生态系统服务价值进行模拟评估。在此基础上,进一步对北京市未来生态系统服务提升区域进行识别,将传统的多情景土地利用模拟研究进行了延伸与扩展。结果表明：(1)3种情景下的土地利用结构与空间布局存在差异,低碳发展情景下东南部平原区建设用地的扩张与耕地面积的减少趋势得到了有效控制,西北部山区的林地面积有较大幅度的增长。(2)低碳发展情景下的生态系统服务价值总量约为590亿元,高于另外两种情景,且从空间分布上来看,该情景下服务价值提升区域的面积也显著高于其他情景。(3)低碳发展情景下,北京市生态系统服务提升潜力较大的区域面积占比约7.98%、潜力中等区域的面积占比约26.57%,潜力较低区域的面积占比约65.45%。     

Proteome characterization of cassava (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Manihot esculenta</Emphasis> Crantz) somatic embryos,plantlets and tuberous roots

Background  

Proteomics is increasingly becoming an important tool for the study of many different aspects of plant functions, such as investigating the molecular processes underlying in plant physiology, development, differentiation and their interaction with the environments. To investigate the cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) proteome, we extracted proteins from somatic embryos, plantlets and tuberous roots of cultivar SC8 and separated them by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).     

EDHF contributes to strain-related differences in pulmonary arterial relaxation in rats

Pulmonary arteries from the Madison (M) strain relax more in response to acetylcholine (ACh) than those from the Hilltop (H) strain of Sprague-Dawley rats. We hypothesized that differences in endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) expression and function, metabolism of ACh by cholinesterases, release of prostacyclin, or endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor(s) (EDHF) from the endothelium would explain the differences in the relaxation response to ACh in isolated pulmonary arteries. eNOS mRNA and protein levels as well as the NO-dependent relaxation responses to thapsigargin in phenylephrine (10(-6) M)-precontracted pulmonary arteries from the M and H strains were identical. The greater relaxation response to ACh in M compared with H rats was also observed with carbachol, a cholinesterase-resistant analog of ACh, a response that was not modified by pretreatment with meclofenamate (10(-5) M). N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (10(-4) M) completely abolished carbachol-induced relaxation in H rat pulmonary arteries but not in M rat pulmonary arteries. Precontraction with KCl (20 mM) blunted the relaxation response to carbachol in M rat pulmonary arteries and eliminated differences between the M and H rat pulmonary arteries. NO-independent relaxation present in the M rat pulmonary arteries was significantly reduced by 17-octadecynoic acid (2 microM) and was completely abolished by charybdotoxin plus apamin (100 nM each). These findings suggest that EDHF, but not NO, contributes to the strain-related differences in pulmonary artery reactivity. Also, EDHF may be a metabolite of cytochrome P-450 that activates Ca(2+)-dependent K(+) channels.     

Photosynthetic characteristics of C4 trait in chlorina mutant of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Biao 810S is a chlorina mutant of the thermosensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) rice. We compared photosynthetic characteristics of these two lines. The contents of chlorophylls and carotenoids in Biao 810S were approximately half of those in 810S. However, the net photosynthetic rate (P _N) of Biao 810S was higher than that of 810S under high irradiance or low concentration of carbon dioxide, and the photon quantum efficiency was higher than that of 810S. The activity of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase in Biao 810S was only 69.80 % of that in 810S, but the activities of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and NADP-malic enzyme were 79.50 and 69.06 % higher than those of 810S, respectively, suggesting that the efficiency of photon energy utilization in Biao 810S was enhanced by reduction of thermal dissipation and increase of electron transfer rate to generate sufficient assimilation power for the dark reactions. Consequently, the increased activities of C₄ photosynthetic enzymes lead to more effective fixation of CO₂ and the synergistic effect of light and dark reactions contributed to the higher P _N of Biao 810S.     

Association of Fcγ Receptor IIB Polymorphism with Cryptococcal Meningitis in HIV-Uninfected Chinese Patients

Background

As important regulators of the immune system, the human Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) have been demonstrated to play important roles in the pathogenesis of various infectious diseases. The aim of the present study was to identify the association between FCGR polymorphisms and cryptococcal meningitis.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In this case control genetic association study, we genotyped four functional polymorphisms in low-affinity FcγRs, including FCGR2A 131H/R, FCGR3A 158F/V, FCGR3B NA1/NA2, and FCGR2B 232I/T, in 117 patients with cryptococcal meningitis and 190 healthy controls by multiplex SNaPshot technology. Among the 117 patients with cryptococcal meningitis, 59 had predisposing factors. In patients with cryptococcal meningitis, the FCGR2B 232I/I genotype was over-presented (OR = 1.652, 95% CI [1.02–2.67]; P = 0.039) and the FCGR2B 232I/T genotype was under-presented (OR = 0.542, 95% CI [0.33–0.90]; P = 0.016) in comparison with control group. In cryptococcal meningitis patients without predisposing factors, FCGR2B 232I/I genotype was also more frequently detected (OR = 1.958, 95% CI [1.05–3.66]; P = 0.033), and the FCGR2B 232I/T genotype was also less frequently detected (OR = 0.467, 95% CI [0.24–0.91]; P = 0.023) than in controls. No significant difference was found among FCGR2A 131H/R, FCGR3A 158F/V, and FCGR3B NA1/NA2 genotype frequencies between patients and controls.

Conclusion/Significance

We found for the first time associations between cryptococcal meningitis and FCGR2B 232I/T genotypes, which suggested that FcγRIIB might play an important role in the central nervous system infection by Cryptococcus in HIV-uninfected individuals.     

Optimization protein productivity of human interleukin-2 through codon usage,gene copy number and intracellular tRNA concentration in CHO cells

Transfer RNA (tRNA) abundance is one of the critical factors for the enhancement of protein productivity in prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. Gene copy number of tRNA and tRNA codon usage bias are generally used to match tRNA abundance of protein-expressing hosts and to optimize the codons of recombinant proteins. Because sufficient concentration of intracellular tRNA and optimized codons of recombinant proteins enhanced translation efficiency, we hypothesized that sufficient supplement of host’s tRNA improved protein productivity in mammalian cells. First, the small tRNA sequencing results of CHO-K1 cells showed moderate positive correlation with gene copy number and codon usage bias. Modification of human interleukin-2 (IL-2) through codons with high gene copy number and high codon usage bias (IL-2 HH, modified on Leu, Thr, Glu) significantly increased protein productivity in CHO-K1 cells. In contrast, modification through codons with relatively high gene copy number and low codon usage bias (IL-2 HL, modified on Ala, Thr, Val), or relatively low gene copy number and low codon usage bias (IL-2 LH, modified on Ala, Thr, Val) did not increase IL-2 productivity significantly. Furthermore, supplement of the alanine tRNA or threonine tRNA increased IL-2 productivity of IL-2 HL. In summary, we revealed a potential strategy to enhance productivity of recombinant proteins, which may be applied in production of protein drug or design of DNA vaccine.