Ultrastructural and hormonal changes in rat cauda epididymal spermatozoa induced by Boswellia papyrifera and Boswellia carterii

Boswellia papyrifera and Boswellia carterii diffuses smoke polluting air that adversely affects indoor environment that certainly harm human health. Therefore, this study aims at ascertaining the effect of these plants on gonadal hormones and molecular changes in rat spermatozoa. The animals were exposed to 4 g/kg body weight of B. papyrifera and B. carterii daily for 120 days along with suitable controls. Significant decreases in FSH, LH and testosterone levels were evidenced, along with a reduction of protein, sialic acid, and carnitine levels. In sperm physiology, sperm count, motility, speed decrease, whereas sperm anomalies increase. TEM observation indicates morphological changes in plasma and acrosomal membranes, cytoplasmic droplet in the tail region, vacuolated, and disorganization of the mitochondrial sheath. These findings demonstrate that B. papyrifera and B. carterii smoke affects the process of sperm formation and maturation, which indicates the detrimental effects of these plants on the reproductive system.     

基于高通量测序的全基因组关联研究策略

全基因组关联研究（Genome-wide association study, GWAS）是人类复杂疾病研究的重要组成部分之一,在群体水平检测全基因组范围的遗传变异与可观测性状间的遗传关联。传统的GWAS是以芯片（Array）技术获得高密度的遗传变异,尽管硕果累累,但也存在不少问题。如：所谓的“缺失的遗传力”,即利用关联分析检测达到全基因组水平显著的遗传变异位点只能解释小部分遗传力;在某些性状上不同研究的结果一致性较弱;显著关联的遗传变异位点的功能较难解释等。高通量测序技术,也称第二代测序（Next-generation sequencing, NGS）技术,可以快速、准确地产出高通量的变异位点数据,为解决以上问题提供了可行的方案。基于NGS技术的GWAS方法（NGS-GWAS）,可在一定程度上弥补传统GWAS的不足。文章对NGS-GWAS策略和方法进行了系统性调研,提出了目前较为可行的NGS-GWAS的实施策略和方法,并对NGS-GWAS如何应用于个体化医疗（Personalized medicine, PM）进行了展望。     

基于科技计量学的全球真菌学研究态势分析

目的 对全球真菌学研究态势进行分析.方法 检索SCI-Expanded数据库2004～2013年全球真菌学研究研究相关文献,采用Web of Science自带软件及Excel 2007等软件进行定量分析,指标包括文献量、被引频次、h指数等.结果 全球真菌学研究近年来呈上升趋势,美国具有绝对领先,中国、德国、日本也是主要的贡献国家.中国真菌学研究排名第2,但论文整体被引频次偏低;主要贡献来自于2007年以后（98.79％）,中国高校是主要的研究机构,国家自然科学基金是最主要的资助来源.结论 2007年以来中国真菌学研究正处于较好的发展时机,但研究水平仍有待提高.     

Vegetative morphology and trait correlations in 54 species of Commelinaceae

The morphospace of 54 species of Commelinaceae from nine genera was examined with simultaneous attention to constraints, adaptive hypotheses and relatedness. Eleven morphological traits, including leaf length and width, angle between the leaves and internode distances, were measured for each species and analysed by principal components analysis and nested analysis of variance. The results revealed a significant signal of relatedness in vegetative morphology; genus explained 20–50% of the variance in a single trait. The relationships between some traits are consistent with adaptive explanations. The findings are consistent with the prediction that evolution for optimal phyllotaxis should be relaxed as self‐shading decreases, and that light availability governs leaf size and branching patterns. Constraints potentially explain some trait correlations, and support was found for the hypothesis that structural constraints govern leaf size and internode size correlations. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158 , 257–268.     

诱导多能干细胞技术在药物研发领域中的前景

由于基础研究环境和临床环境之间存在的转化差异,使得药物在临床阶段取得成功仍然具有挑战性。诱导多能干(iPS)细胞的诞生为药物研发领域带来了新的希望,使研究者能在体外人性化各种药理学和毒理学模型。人iPS衍生细胞的可获得性,特别是可以定向分化成特定的功能性细胞、组织和器官,一方面为疾病机制研究与细胞治疗提供了全新的途径。另一方面,转化研究中的生物标记物提供了评估临床前基础研究环境和临床环境下毒理学及药理学影响的可衡量的指标,而iPS细胞给生物标记物的研究带来了全新的思路。从转化研究的角度概述了基于iPS细胞药物发现的现行策略,阐明了iPS细胞的潜力以及生物标志物在药物发现和发展整个过程中的作用,突出在该领域有待改进的地方,以期为进一步相关性研究提供一定参考,为新药研发提供新的思路与方法。     

灵芝超微粉与普通粉薄层色谱及多糖含量对比研究

目的：比较灵芝超微粉与普通粉的薄层色谱及多糖含量差异。方法：利用薄层色谱法对灵芝药材超微粉与普通粉进行定性鉴别;用紫外-可见分光光度法测定多糖含量。结果：灵芝超微粉TLC色谱斑点较普通粉的色谱斑点深,超微粉多糖含量为2.9782%,普通粉多糖含量为0.7092%,超微粉较普通粉提高到4倍以上。结论：首次对灵芝超微粉与普通粉的薄层色谱及多糖含量进行对比研究,为有效控制灵芝超微粉的质量及深度研究提供依据。     

Origin and development of secondary somatic embryos in transformed embryogenic cultures of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Medicago sativa</Emphasis>

Non-transformed and transformed embryogenic cultures of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv. Zaječarska 83), long-term maintained on growth regulator-free medium, were histologically analyzed. In all examined cultures, somatic embryos at various stages of development were observed and secondary embryos were formed in the cotyledonary, hypocotylary and radicular region of the primary embryos. Detailed histological analysis of the torpedo shape somatic embryo revealed that secondary somatic embryos arose directly from single epidermal cells of hypocotylary axis after an unequal periclinal division. Bipolar proembryos were composed of one smaller cytoplasm rich cell and one larger more vacuolated cell. Further cell division pattern was similar for both non-transformed and transformed embryos. However, multicellular origin of secondary embryos in a direct process and even from callus can not be excluded.     

Laboratory culture and taxonomy of two species ofPedobesia (Bryopsidales,Chlorophyceae) in Japan

The morphology ofPedobesia lamourouxii andDerbesia ryukyuensis, both collected in Shimoda and the adjacent areas in central Japan, was studied from field specimens and laboratory cultures. Specimens which had the same morphology as EuropeanP. lamourouxii produced stephanokont zoospores which developed into either prostrate filaments or expanded discoidal thalli similar to those described by Feldmann and Codomier (1974) and Feldmannet al. (1975). Erect filament identical with the thallus found in nature developed directly from prostrate filaments. The specimens which had morphology similar to that ofDerbesia ryukyuensis described by Yamada and Tanaka (1938) also produced stephanokont zoospores which developed similarly to those ofP. lamourouxii. This species is, therefore, a member ofPedobesia, and it is made a new combinationP. ryukyuensis (Yamada et Tanaka) Kobara et Chihara, comb. nov.     

Alkaloidal variation in the genus Pearsonia

Several quinolizidine alkaloids, including various angelate esters, are known from the genus Pearsonia. In a detailed variation study which included 98 samples from nine of the 11 species, large qualitative and quantitative differences were recorded. The observed variation is ascribed to the following: 1, species (the alkaloids of some species and subspecies are diagnostically different); 2, provenance (various populations of the same species may have unique combinations of alkaloids); 3, developmental stage (in P. cajanifolia there is a marked decreased in esterification towards the end of the growing season); 4, plant parts extracted (seeds, for example, have high concentrations of hydroxylated lupanine-type alkaloids and only small amounts of esters). These results highlight some of the problems associated with the use of alkaloids as taxonomic characters.     

Synthesis,characterization, anticancer evaluation and mechanisms of cytotoxic activity of novel 3-hydroxy-3-pyrrolin-2-ones bearing thenoyl fragment: DNA,BSA interactions and molecular docking study

In order to make a progress in discovering a new agents for chemotherapy with improved properties and bearing in mind the fact that substituted 3-hydroxy-3-pyrrolin-2-ones belong to a class of biologically active compounds, series of novel 1,5-diaryl-4-(2-thienylcarbonyl)-3-hydroxy-3-pyrrolin-2-ones were synthesized and characterized by spectral (UV–Vis, IR, NMR, ESI-MS), X-ray and elemental analysis. All compounds were examined for their cytotoxic effect on human cancer cell lines HeLa and MDA-MB 231 and normal fibroblasts (MRC-5). Four compounds, 3-hydroxy-1-(p-tolyl)-4-(2-thienylcarbonyl)-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrol-2-one (D10), 3-hydroxy-1-(3-nitrophenyl)-4-(2-thienylcarbonyl)-5-(4-(benzyloxy)phenyl)-2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrol-2-one (D13), 3-hydroxy-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-4-(2-thienylcarbonyl)-5-(4-(benzyloxy)phenyl)-2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrol-2-one (D14), and 3-hydroxy-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-(2-thienylcarbonyl)-5-(4-(benzyloxy)phenyl)-2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrol-2-one (D15), that showed the highest cytotoxicity against malignant cells and the best selectivity towards normal cells were selected for further experiments. Results obtained by investigating mechanisms of cytotoxic activity suggest that selected 3-hydroxy-3-pyrrolin-2-one derivatives in HeLa cells induce apoptosis that is associated with S phase arrest (D13, D15, and D10) or unrelated to cell cycle distribution (D14). Additionally, to better understand their suitability for potential use as anticancer medicaments we studied the interactions between biomacromolecules (DNA or BSA) and D13 and D15. The results indicated that D13 and D15 have great affinity to displace EB from the EB-DNA complex through intercalation [K_sv = (3.7 ± 0.1) and (3.4 ± 0.1) × 10³ M⁻¹, respectively], an intercalative mode also confirmed through viscosity measurements. K_a values, obtained as result of fluorescence titration of BSA with D13 and D15 [K_a = (4.2 ± 0.2) and (2.6 ± 0.2) × 10⁵ M, respectively], support the fact that a significant amount of the tested compounds could be transported and distributed through the cells. In addition, by DNA and BSA molecular docking study for D13, D14 and D15 is determined and predicted the binding mode and the interaction region.