Nuclear-encoded chloroplast RNA polymerase sigma factor SIG2 activates chloroplast-encoded phycobilisome genes in a red alga, Cyanidioschyzon merolae

The phycobilisome (PBS) is a photosynthetic light-harvesting complex in red algae, whose structural genes are separately encoded by both the nuclear and chloroplast genomes. While the expression of PBS genes in both genomes is responsive to environmental changes to modulate light-harvesting efficiency, little is known about how gene expression of the two genomes is coordinated. In this study, we focused on the four nuclear-encoded chloroplast sigma factors to understand aspects of this coordination, and found that SIG2 directs the expression of chloroplast PBS genes in the red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae.     

某大型综合医院护理人力资源配置研究

?????? 目的 从目前护理人员承担的工作量出发,探讨临床科室护理人员配置理想床护比,为医院护理人力配置提供依据。方法 以工作量测算法作为核心研究方法,采用工现场观察法对西安市某大型综合医院42个临床科室护士的工作量进行测算,并使用Excel、SPSS17.0统计软件进行公式运算和统计分析。结果 （1）临床科室护理人员的工作时间超过标准工作时间6小时;（2）所调研科室现有床护比仅为1: 0.46,缺编41.50%;（3）依据目前的工作量需要,内科病房的床护比应为1:0.62,外科病房床护比应为1:0.63,监护科室为1:2.08,平均床护比1:0.78。结论 临床科室医师人员配备亟待补充,医院应根据实际工作量进行合理测算后配置护理人员,通过工时测定提出了的理想床护比可为其他医院提供参考。     

Studies on Chlorosis-Inducing Activities and Plant Growth Inhibition of Benzophenone Derivatives

Some benzophenones substituted with methyl, methoxy, hydroxy or halogen groups inhibited growth and induced chlorosis in various plants. The structure activity relationships about the chlorosis-inducing activity and the growth inhibitory activity of the 3-methyl-benzophenones were well expressed by use of hydrophobic contant π, and Hammett’s σ. The highest selectivity for phytotoxic activities against barnyardgrass and the rice plant was with 3,3′-dimethyl-4-methoxybenzophenone (Methoxyphenone).     

Estimating Neospora caninum prevalence in wildlife populations using Bayesian inference

Prevalence of disease in wildlife populations, which is necessary for developing disease models and conducting epidemiologic analyses, is often understudied. Laboratory tests used to screen for diseases in wildlife populations often are validated only for domestic animals. Consequently, the use of these tests for wildlife populations may lead to inaccurate estimates of disease prevalence. We demonstrate the use of Bayesian latent class analysis (LCA) in determining the specificity and sensitivity of a competitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA; VMRD^®, Inc.) serologic test used to identify exposure to Neospora caninum (hereafter N. caninum) in three wildlife populations in southeastern Ohio, USA. True prevalence of N. caninum exposure in these populations was estimated to range from 0.1% to 3.1% in American bison (Bison bison), 51.0% to 53.8% in Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), and 40.0% to 45.9% in white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). The accuracy of the cELISA in American bison and Père David's deer was estimated to be close to the 96% sensitivity and 99% specificity reported by the manufacturer. Sensitivity in white‐tailed deer, however, ranged from 78.9% to 99.9%. Apparent prevalence of N. caninum from the test results is not equal to the true prevalence in white‐tailed deer and Père David's deer populations. Even when these species inhabit the same community, the true prevalence in the two deer populations differed from the true prevalence in the American bison population. Variances in prevalence for some species suggest differences in the epidemiology of N. caninum for these colocated populations. Bayesian LCA methods could be used as in this example to overcome some of the constraints on validating tests in wildlife species. The ability to accurately evaluate disease status and prevalence in a population improves our understanding of the epidemiology of multihost pathogen systems at the community level.     

蜜柚不同砧穗组合苗期嫁接亲和性评价

为评价蜜柚砧穗的嫁接亲和性,以红绵蜜柚(Citrus grandis‘Hongmianmiyou’)、三红蜜柚(‘Sanhongmiyou’)、红肉蜜柚(‘Hongroumiyou’)、黄金蜜柚(‘Huangjinmiyou’)和琯溪蜜柚(‘Guanximiyou’)作接穗,枳(Poncirus trifoliata)、香橙(Citrus junos)、酸柚(Citrus grandis)作砧木,田间调查15个砧穗组合苗期生长指标,测定嫁接愈合期叶片多酚氧化酶(PPO)和过氧化物酶(POD)活性、可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖含量,采用主成分分析和聚类分析方法对蜜柚砧穗组合嫁接亲和性进行评价。结果表明,以柚作砧木的砧穗组合保存率高、生长势旺盛、抽梢能力强,以枳和香橙作砧木的砧穗组合部分指标存在差异,其中红绵蜜柚和黄金蜜柚以枳作砧木时表现出不亲和现象。不同砧穗组合嫁接愈合时期PPO、POD、可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖变化趋势基本一致。主成分分析结果表明,4个主成分基本反映了15个指标91.33%的数据信息。聚类分析将15个砧穗组合分为4类,与主成分分析结果基本一致。因此,琯溪蜜柚、红肉蜜柚和三红蜜柚嫁接可采用枳和柚作砧木,红绵蜜柚和黄金蜜柚嫁接可采用柚作砧木,红绵蜜柚和黄金蜜柚嫁接不可采用枳作砧木。     

Inhibiting the urokinase‐type plasminogen activator receptor system recovers STZ‐induced diabetic nephropathy

The urokinase‐type plasminogen activator (uPA) receptor (uPAR) participates to the mechanisms causing renal damage in response to hyperglycaemia. The main function of uPAR in podocytes (as well as soluble uPAR ‐(s)uPAR‐ from circulation) is to regulate podocyte function through αvβ3 integrin/Rac‐1. We addressed the question of whether blocking the uPAR pathway with the small peptide UPARANT, which inhibits uPAR binding to the formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) can improve kidney lesions in a rat model of streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetes. The concentration of systemically administered UPARANT was measured in the plasma, in kidney and liver extracts and UPARANT effects on dysregulated uPAR pathway, αvβ3 integrin/Rac‐1 activity, renal fibrosis and kidney morphology were determined. UPARANT was found to revert STZ‐induced up‐regulation of uPA levels and activity, while uPAR on podocytes and (s)uPAR were unaffected. In glomeruli, UPARANT inhibited FPR2 expression suggesting that the drug may act downstream uPAR, and recovered the increased activity of the αvβ3 integrin/Rac‐1 pathway indicating a major role of uPAR in regulating podocyte function. At the functional level, UPARANT was shown to ameliorate: (a) the standard renal parameters, (b) the vascular permeability, (c) the renal inflammation, (d) the renal fibrosis including dysregulated plasminogen‐plasmin system, extracellular matrix accumulation and glomerular fibrotic areas and (e) morphological alterations of the glomerulus including diseased filtration barrier. These results provide the first demonstration that blocking the uPAR pathway can improve diabetic kidney lesion in the STZ model, thus suggesting the uPA/uPAR system as a promising target for the development of novel uPAR‐targeting approaches.     

Retrospective assessment of a single fiducial marker tracking regimen with robotic stereotactic body radiation therapy for liver tumours

AimTo investigate tumour motion tracking uncertainties in the CyberKnife Synchrony system with single fiducial marker in liver tumours.BackgroundIn the fiducial-based CyberKnife real-time tumour motion tracking system, multiple fiducial markers are generally used to enable translation and rotation corrections during tracking. However, sometimes a single fiducial marker is employed when rotation corrections are not estimated during treatment.Materials and methodsData were analysed for 32 patients with liver tumours where one fiducial marker was implanted. Four-dimensional computed tomography (CT) scans were performed to determine the internal target volume (ITV). Before the first treatment fraction, the CT scans were repeated and the marker migration was determined. Log files generated by the Synchrony system were obtained after each treatment and the correlation model errors were calculated. Intra-fractional spine rotations were examined on the spine alignment images before and after each treatment.ResultsThe mean (standard deviation) ITV margin was 4.1 (2.3) mm, which correlated weakly with the distance between the fiducial marker and the tumour. The mean migration distance of the marker was 1.5 (0.7) mm. The overall mean correlation model error was 1.03 (0.37) mm in the radial direction. The overall mean spine rotations were 0.27° (0.31), 0.25° (0.22), and 0.23° (0.26) for roll, pitch, and yaw, respectively. The treatment time was moderately associated with the correlation model errors and weakly related to spine rotation in the roll and yaw planes.ConclusionsMore caution and an additional safety margins are required when tracking a single fiducial marker.     

Windows操作系统下二代测序数据处理平台的建立及高通量信息分析标准流程在个人计算机上的实现

当前二代测序数据的处理广泛使用基于标准版本的Linux操作系统分析方法。这一系统专业性强,成本较高,操作界面不够友好,严重限制了大多数科研人员对数据的自主分析。本文创建了一个基于微软Windows操作系统的全功能二代测序数据的生物信息学分析系统,利用该系统经优选实现当前多种高通量测序数据的主流标准化分析流程。通过RNA-Seq的代表性案例,演算实测数据与传统Linux系统驱动的数据分析结果相比较,结果显示,本系统的组件和流程在常用的数据分析过程中,可以基本取代目前主流的Linux服务器或云计算平台,在运行效率相近的情况下,其操作极为简便且成本大大降低。本系统与所配附的编译软件及流程脚本,不仅为测序数据的生物信息学分析实操演练提供全面的解决方案,而且可以直接应用于专业的测序数据分析中。     

黄酒酿造原料及生产工艺研究现状与展望

黄酒的质量取决于酿造原料、酒曲、加工工艺以及酿造环境,不同的酿造原料、酒曲、加工工艺和环境能赋予黄酒不同的品质与风味。本文在检索文献、比较分析新旧版黄酒国标的基础上,介绍了南北地区黄酒酿造原料的差异以及新型功能性黄酒原辅料研发现状,综述了浸米、蒸饭与发酵三个工艺关键环节的最新研究进展,旨在为黄酒技术的创新,功能性、饮料性、国际性黄酒新产品开发提供借鉴及参考。     

The distribution of residues in a polypeptide sequence is a determinant of aggregation optimized by evolution

It has been shown that the propensity of a protein to form amyloid-like fibrils can be predicted with high accuracy from the knowledge of its amino acid sequence. It has also been suggested, however, that some regions of the sequences are more important than others in determining the aggregation process. Here, we have addressed this issue by constructing a set of “sequence scrambled” variants of the first 29 residues of horse heart apomyoglobin (apoMb_1-29), in which the sequence was modified while maintaining the same amino acid composition. The clustering of the most amyloidogenic residues in one region of the sequence was found to cause a marked increase of the elongation rate (k_agg) and a remarkable shortening of the lag phase (t_lag) of the fibril growth, as determined by far-UV circular dichroism and thioflavin T fluorescence. We also show that taking explicitly into consideration the presence of aggregation-promoting regions in the predictive methods results in a quantitative agreement between the theoretical and observed k_agg and t_lag values of the apoMb_1-29 variants. These results, together with a comparison between homologous segments from the family of globins, indicate the existence of a negative selection against the clustering of highly amyloidogenic residues in one or few regions of polypeptide sequences.