交通绿化带植物配置对空气颗粒物的净化效益

交通绿化带有显著的净化街道空气的环境效益。通过对上海浦东某交通干道旁侧绿化带不同季节大气中总悬浮颗粒物(TSP)的测定,定量研究了绿化带对TSP的净化效益;同时对研究区域内植物的配置情况用郁闭度和疏透度进行了表征,并研究了其与TSP的净化效益之间的相关性。研究结果表明:交通绿化带对由机动车引起的TSP污染有明显的净化作用,其中夏、秋季净化百分率较高,春、冬季较低;为达到较高的TSP净化效益,交通绿化带宽度应不小于5m,最佳为10m,采用先灌后乔的配置方式,并更多的选用常绿树种;绿地对TSP的净化百分率同植物群落的郁闭度成正相关,同疏透度成负相关关系;绿地内植物郁闭度的最佳范围为0.70～0.85,疏透度的最佳范围为0.25～0.33。研究结果可为评价现有交通绿化带植物配置情况和日后的城市绿地规划和建设提供技术依据。     

Effects of vegetation status in urban green spaces on particle removal in a street canyon atmosphere

Green spaces contribute to the removal of significant amounts of air pollutants. This quantitative study, using seasonally monitoring data of Total Suspended Particles (TSP) from green spaces along one street of Pudong, Shanghai, China, demonstrates that vegetation can remove large amounts of TSP. Furthermore, correlation analysis was performed between the vegetation status, measured by canopy density and shelterbelt porosity, and the TSP removal percentage. The results show that (1) vegetation in green spaces greatly contributes to reduce TSP pollution. The width of green spaces along the road should not be smaller than 5 m, with the best width being 10 m, and more evergreen trees should be chosen in order to get a noticeable TSP purification effect; (2) The TSP removal percentage is correlated to the canopy density and inversely correlated to the shelterbelt porosity. The optimum intervals of the canopy density and shelterbelt porosity are 0.70–0.85 and 0.25–0.33, respectively. The proposed optimum intervals can help to estimate the vegetation structure of green spaces and provide technical support for the programming and construction of urban green spaces.     

Highly Conserved Residues in the Helical Domain of Dengue Virus Type 1 Precursor Membrane Protein Are Involved in Assembly,Precursor Membrane (prM) Protein Cleavage,and Entry

The envelope and precursor membrane (prM) proteins of dengue virus (DENV) are present on the surface of immature virions. During maturation, prM protein is cleaved by furin protease into pr peptide and membrane (M) protein. Although previous studies mainly focusing on the pr region have identified several residues important for DENV replication, the functional role of M protein, particularly the α-helical domain (MH), which is predicted to undergo a large conformational change during maturation, remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of nine highly conserved MH domain residues in the replication cycle of DENV by site-directed mutagenesis in a DENV1 prME expression construct and found that alanine substitutions introduced to four highly conserved residues at the C terminus and one at the N terminus of the MH domain greatly affect the production of both virus-like particles and replicon particles. Eight of the nine alanine mutants affected the entry of replicon particles, which correlated with the impairment in prM cleavage. Moreover, seven mutants were found to have reduced prM-E interaction at low pH, which may inhibit the formation of smooth immature particles and exposure of prM cleavage site during maturation, thus contributing to inefficient prM cleavage. Taken together, these results are the first report showing that highly conserved MH domain residues, located at 20–38 amino acids downstream from the prM cleavage site, can modulate the prM cleavage, maturation of particles, and virus entry. The highly conserved nature of these residues suggests potential targets of antiviral strategy.     

The role of particles on the biogeochemical cycling of domoic acid and its isomers in natural water matrices

The adsorption of dissolved domoic acid (DA) and its geometrical isomers was assessed in aqueous solutions containing various types of particles. In one series of experiments carried out in coastal seawater, detectable net adsorption of 100 nM DA occurred only onto natural seawater particles (unfiltered seawater) and 0.5 g L⁻¹ chromatographic silica (18%) in 0.2 μm-filtered seawater. Some net adsorption (<5%) also occurred in the 0.5 g L⁻¹ suspension of estuarine sediment and 0.5 g L⁻¹ solution of humic acid in filtered seawater. No losses were seen in 0.5 g L⁻¹ suspensions of illite, kaolinite, montmorillonite, and silica sand. Biological degradation accounted for small losses (8–10%) in filtered seawater without particles. A second series of experiments using organic-free, <5 μm fractions of kaolinite and montmorillonite in deionized water (DIW) demonstrated that 70% of DA adsorbed onto kaolinite, but only 5% onto montmorillonite. Geometrical isomers of DA (iso-DA D, E, and F) showed negligible adsorption (0–8%) onto a variety of particles in filtered seawater, suggesting that major ions in seawater neutralize electrostatic attractions between particles and DA isomers. These results suggest that DA and its isomers are relatively hydrophilic and not particle reactive. Our data suggest that photochemical and biological degradation of dissolved DA and its isomers appears to occur in bulk surface seawater and its transport to bottom sediments must be mainly biologically driven.     

Membrane specializations in the paired spermatozoa of dytiscid water beetles

The paired spermatozoa of the dytiscid beetles Dytiscus marginalis and Hydaticus seminiger were studied by electron microscopy with the aim of examining whether the regions of the cell membrane in the zones of sperm conjugation might differ from other regions and to explore whether these cells had any other specialized domains of the cell membrane that could be recognized by the freeze-fracturing technique. The spermatozoa are conjugated along one side of the sperm head and proximal tail portion, called the ventral side. The cell membrane was seen to contain tightly packed intramembranous particles (IMPs) that were predominantly located in the external membrane face (the E-face). In thin sections the cell membrane had a ladder-like appearance at these regions and a specialized type of glycocalyx seen as a fluffy material containing granules. Other specialized membrane domains could also be recorded: a ribbon of particles in the protoplasmic face (P-face) of the dorsal side of the spermatozoon at the proximal tail portion and regularly arranged particle rows in the P-face of the distal tail portion. These domains corresponded to regions where the glycocalyx is prominent. Both the E-face and the P-face of the cell membrane were seen to contain numerous intramembranous particles, which suggests an active function for both membrane leaflets; this is in contrast to the situation in most cells where the particles are mainly in the P-face. The functions of the intramembranous particles in the specialized domains of the cell membrane remains unknown. Some particles may represent receptors or ion gates, others proteins with a mechanical function.     

Class II ADP-ribosylation factors are required for efficient secretion of dengue viruses

Identification and characterization of virus-host interactions are very important steps toward a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for disease progression and pathogenesis. To date, very few cellular factors involved in the life cycle of flaviviruses, which are important human pathogens, have been described. In this study, we demonstrate a crucial role for class II Arf proteins (Arf4 and Arf5) in the dengue flavivirus life cycle. We show that simultaneous depletion of Arf4 and Arf5 blocks recombinant subviral particle secretion for all four dengue serotypes. Immunostaining analysis suggests that class II Arf proteins are required at an early pre-Golgi step for dengue virus secretion. Using a horseradish peroxidase protein fused to a signal peptide, we show that class II Arfs act specifically on dengue virus secretion without altering the secretion of proteins through the constitutive secretory pathway. Co-immunoprecipitation data demonstrate that the dengue prM glycoprotein interacts with class II Arf proteins but not through its C-terminal VXPX motif. Finally, experiments performed with replication-competent dengue and yellow fever viruses demonstrate that the depletion of class II Arfs inhibits virus secretion, thus confirming their implication in the virus life cycle, although data obtained with West Nile virus pointed out the differences in virus-host interactions among flaviviruses. Our findings shed new light on a molecular mechanism used by dengue viruses during the late stages of the life cycle and demonstrate a novel function for class II Arf proteins.     

甲烷氧化菌素的产生和铜捕获作用

甲烷氧化菌素(mb)是由甲烷氧化菌产生的与铜捕获和吸收有关的生物螯合剂。采用NMS/CAS-Cu劈半平板法检测发现甲基弯菌 Methylosinus trichosporium IMV3011在以甲烷和甲醇为碳源时均具有向外界分泌mb的能力。甲基弯菌 Methylosinus trichosporium IMV3011在限铜胁迫下能够在培养介质中积累mb,甲醇为碳源时mb的积累量明显高于甲烷为碳源时mb的积累量,推测mb的合成与细胞中NADH含量有关。mb的专一性研究发现从甲基弯菌 Methylosinus trichosporium IMV3011发酵上清液中分离到的mb能够提高其它3种甲烷氧化菌由无铜培养基向含铜培养基转移时的pMMO活性的表达,并明显缩短它们由无铜培养基转移到含铜培养基时生长的延滞期,提高生长速度。表明其它3种甲烷氧化菌同样能够吸收来自于甲基弯菌Methylosinus trichosporium IMV3011的mb捕获的铜。     

Toxicological impact of Zinc Nano Particles on tilapia fish (Oreochromis mossambicus)

In this study we investigated the acute toxicity of Zinc Nano Particles (ZnO NPs) and bulk ZnO on tilapia fish (Oreochromis mossambicus). Oreochromis mossambicus was exposed to the different concentration of ZnO NPs, ZnO and mixed solution of both ZnO NPs and ZnO (20 ppb, 20 ppb, 20 ppb) respectively for 96 h. A very high impact was recorded in hematological parameters which shows significant increased (p < 0.05) in count of white WBCs and platelets in all the experimental groups compared tocontrol group. The count of RBCs, Hb, hematocrit and MCHC were significantly decreased. The remarkable changes which were recorded during this study were histopathological lesions in the gills of exposed fish including, disorganization of gill lamella, cartilaginous core disruption, lifting of epithelium, loss of secondary gill lamellae, blood congestion, fusion of secondary gills lamellae, shortening of secondary gills lamellae, atrophy and curling. Disassembly were seen in plasma membrane of liver along with blood congestion, pyknosis, necrosis, hyperplasia and formation of vacuoles. Intestinal alterations which were observed include shortening of villi, necrosis, detachment and fusion of villi and extreme goblet cells formation. It is concluded from the present study that high level of ZnO NPs, ZnO and mixed solution has a strong tendency to alter hematological parameters, histological architecture, therefore, the indiscriminate use of ZnO NPs and ZnO can subsidize in reducing the population of Oreochromis mossambicus in natural water bodies.     

复方浙贝母药物血清抑制L1210/CDDP细胞增殖与诱导凋亡研究

目的：观察复方浙贝药物血清抑制耐顺铂的小鼠淋巴细胞系（L1210/CDDP）增殖和诱导凋亡效应,并在此基础上探讨复方浙贝颗粒逆转白血病细胞多药耐药机制。方法：MTT法测定不同浓度组复方浙贝颗粒含药血清抑制L1210/CDDP增殖;Annex-in-V/PI双染经流式细胞仪（FCM）定量检测其含药血清诱导L1210/CDDP细胞早期凋亡率。结果：不同剂量复方浙贝颗粒含药血清组均具有抑制L1210/CDDP细胞增殖效应,对其凋亡抑制率分别为：29.27%（高剂量组）、31.78%（中剂量组）、21.20%（低剂量组）、25.31%（阿霉素组）;实验各组的A570nm与空白对照组比较明显下降（P〈0.01）。经FCM双荧光法检测其能够诱导L1210/CDDP细胞早期凋亡,实验各组凋亡率分别为：55.12%（中剂量血清组）、34.23%（低剂量组）、25.69%（高剂量组）,24.65%（空白血清组）。结论：复方浙贝颗粒含药血清能够明显抑制L1210/CDDP细胞增殖,并能诱导其凋亡。     

Development of a novel disposable filter bag for separation of biomolecules with functionalized magnetic particles

The integration of disposable magnetic filters in combination with functionalized magnetic particles represents a fast and cost‐effective alternative for enzyme purification in comparison to solid/liquid separation by means of centrifugation followed by chromatographic purification. The main advantage of the particle‐based process is the solid/solid/liquid separation in one step combined with disposable equipment. Furthermore this combination provides the possibility to also process biocatalytic reactions in cell‐containing media into disposable equipment with preimmobilized enzymes onto the magnetic particles. The focus of the presented study is on the design and performance of a disposable filtration unit consisting of a plastic bag with an inlet and outlet and a stainless steel filter matrix. During magnetic separation, the magnetic particles selectively retard at the filter matrix due to the magnetic force, which counteracts the drag force. It was found that the length of a lengthwise aligned filter matrix should be longer than the magnetic pole surfaces in fluid flow direction. Hereby, a filtration capacity of 5.6 g magnetic particles was measured with a loss of below 0.5%. Introducing a two‐phase flow optimizes the cleaning of the bag after a magnetic filtration. The procedure offered a high cleaning efficiency. Herewith, the cleaned filter unit could be discarded with minimum losses of product and magnet particles.