环状RNA及其在生态毒理学研究中的应用进展

环状RNA（circular RNAs,circRNAs）是一类共价闭合环状非编码RNA,具有进化上保守、结构上稳定、组织特异性表达等特点。CircRNAs可作为miRNAs海绵影响其对基因的调控,还可与RNA结合蛋白（RNA binding proteins,RBPs）相互作用,也有研究表明某些circRNAs还具有被翻译成蛋白质的潜能。CircRNAs已被证实对某些疾病具有特异性、稳定性和调节功能,如癌症、糖尿病、心血管疾病、神经退行性疾病等,其可作为潜在的诊断、预后生物标志物和治疗靶点。最近,有研究发现circRNAs参与了环境化学污染物诱导的毒性效应发生及发展的过程。目前,生态毒理学研究中评价环境化学污染物和毒效应之间关系的毒性终点通常会受遗传多态性和表观遗传学影响,考虑到经环境化学污染物暴露后生物体内circRNAs差异性表达的现象,或许在生态毒理学研究中circRNAs也有作为生物标志物的可能性。基于此,对circRNAs的生物合成与降解、生物学功能、分析方法及其目前在生态毒理学研究中的应用展开综述,并对其作为分子生物标志物在环境污染物暴露早期诊断和生态风险评价中的应用进行了展望,以期为生态毒理学研究和环境风险评价提供参考。     

Conspecific density and environmental complexity impact behaviour of turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri)

Fish models are essential for research in many biological and medical disciplines. With a typical lifespan of only 6 months, the Turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) was recently established as a time- and cost-efficient model to facilitate whole-life and multigenerational studies in several research fields, including behavioural ecotoxicology. Essential information on the behavioural norm and on how laboratory conditions affect behaviour, however, is deficient. In the current study, we examined the impact of the social and structural environment on a broad spectrum of behavioural endpoints in N. furzeri. While structural enrichment affected only fish boldness and exploratory behaviour, fish rearing density affected the total body length, locomotor activity, boldness, aggressiveness and feeding behaviour of N. furzeri individuals. Overall, these results contribute to compiling a behavioural baseline for N. furzeri that increases the applicability of this new model species. Furthermore, our findings will fuel the development of improved husbandry protocols to maximize the welfare of N. furzeri in a laboratory setting.     

The politics of a new legal order for fisheries

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) Fishing is considered a major threat to high seas fish stocks. Each of the the international regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) are combating some form of IUU fishing and this led the Food and Agriculture Oranization of the United Nations (FAO) to adopt the International Plan of Action to Deter, Prevent and Eliminate IUU Fishing (IPOA-IUU). This article will analyze the issues involved with IUU fishing, examine the recommendations in the IPOA, and consider examples of successful management and enforcement measures in use by states and RFMOs. Finally, recent developments in China will be viewed as an example of how international cooperation is contagious.     

8-Aminoquinoline-based ratiometric zinc probe: Unexpected binding mode and its application in living cells

PMQA, an 8-aminoquinoline-based ratiometric fluorescent sensor, demonstrates the Zn²⁺-induced red-shift of emission (85 nm), and was successfully applied to image zinc in living cells. Compared to 2:1 stoichiometry in PMQA–Zn²⁺, PMQA–Cu²⁺ shows 1:1 composition. Both nitrogen atoms from the aminoquinoline are missing in binding of zinc, while they are critically involved in Cu²⁺ chelation. The structure difference between PMQA–Zn²⁺ and PMQA–Cu²⁺ might shed light in designing novel zinc probes without suffering from copper interference.     

潮虫消耗木本植物凋落物的可选择性试验

近年来,越来越多的学者关注外来植物入侵对土壤生态功能的影响效应及其相应反馈机制的探索与研究,然而本地原生土壤生物群落对不同入侵程度下的外来植物种以及本地原生植物种之间是否存在消耗差异却尚不明了.通过等足目潮虫的选择性喂养试验来测试10个本地种、5个非入侵性外来种和5个强入侵性外来种之间的适口性差异,试图求证外来植物的入侵性是否与植物落叶被消耗率呈现必然联系.数据分析结果显示潮虫对本地种、非入侵性外来种和入侵性外来种的消耗并无显著差异;而潮虫对不同生活型下木本植物的取食却存在显著差异,即灌木消耗率显著高于乔木.其次,通过植物初始性状指标(包括木质素、纤维素、半纤维素、碳、氮含量)与相应消耗率的相关比较,消耗量总体上与植物凋落物的氮含量呈正相关关系(R2 =0.358).由此,研究结论强调植物落叶的降解速率并不一定与植物入侵性或入侵阶段呈绝对相互关连,但是氮含量,抑或各种形式的植物氮元素成分都可能在一定程度上参与并影响着外来植物的入侵进程.     

A design for the control of apoptosis in genetically modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have engineered a system that holds potential for use as a safety switch in genetically modified yeasts. Human apoptotic factor BAX (no homolog in yeast), under the control of the FBP1 (gluconeogenesis enzyme) promoter, was conditionally expressed to induce yeast cell apoptosis after glucose depletion. Such systems might prove useful for the safe use of genetically modified organisms.     

住院患者多重耐药菌感染临床研究

目的 探讨住院患者多重耐药菌感染情况与病原学特点,为临床制定医院感染控制措施提供参考依据.方法 对住院患者中的多重耐药菌感染及病原特点情况进行统计分析.结果 住院患者多重耐药菌感染发生率为3.5％,主要为革兰阴性菌(71.5％),多重耐药菌居前7位的依次是大肠埃希菌、肺炎克雷伯菌、鲍曼不动杆菌、铜绿假单胞菌、凝固酶阴性葡萄球菌、肠球菌属、金黄色葡萄球菌等.多重耐药菌感染的患者主要来自于重症监护室、神经外科、呼吸内科等.多重耐药菌对选用的抗生素均有较高的耐药性.结论 多重耐药菌耐药率普遍较高,临床医师应重视病原学检查及药敏监测,合理选择使用抗菌药物.     

The biological standard of living in Indonesia during the 20th century: Evidence from the age at menarche

This article analyses long-term changes in the mean age at menarche (MAM) as a biological indicator of changes in the standard of living in Indonesia. It finds that MAM was about 15.5 for birth cohorts in the late-19th century, decreasing to 14.5 by the 1930s, at which level it stagnated until the gradual decrease resumed since the early 1960s to around 12.5 in the mid-2000s. The article considers that long-term improvements in nutrition, educational attainment and health care explain these trends. An international comparison of long-term changes finds that MAM in Indonesia was much lower than in Korea and China until respectively 1970 and 1990, but comparable to Japan until 1950 and to Malaysia until 1930. The article presents reasons why these differences are unlikely to be related to dissimilarities in climate and ethnicity, and concludes that they are indicative of relative standards of living.     

Interaction between single molecules of Mac-1 and ICAM-1 in living cells: an atomic force microscopy study

The interaction between integrin macrophage differentiation antigen associated with complement three receptor function (Mac-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), which is controlled tightly by the ligand-binding activity of Mac-1, is central to the regulation of neutrophil adhesion in host defense. Several "inside-out" signals and extracellular metal ions or antibodies have been found to activate Mac-1, resulting in an increased adhesiveness of Mac-1 to its ligands. However, the molecular basis for Mac-1 activation is not well understood yet. In this work, we have carried out a single-molecule study of Mac-1/ICAM-1 interaction force in living cells by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our results showed that the binding probability and adhesion force of Mac-1 with ICAM-1 increased upon Mac-1 activation. Moreover, by comparing the dynamic force spectra of different Mac-1 mutants, we expected that Mac-1 activation is governed by the downward movement of its alpha7 helix.