基于方证相关探讨茵陈蒿汤调控库普弗细胞功能及MAPK通路抗肝纤维化的作用机制

目的：基于前期茵陈蒿汤类方抗肝硬化的方证病理基础结果,围绕“方-证相关”的学术内涵,提出了“方证相关时,方剂对机体基因的调控遵循‘无差错修复’原则”的假说;并探讨茵陈蒿汤对DMN诱导大鼠肝纤维化形成阶段肝组织库普弗细胞（Kupffer Cells,KCs）相关基因表达及对丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）通路的影响。方法：采用wistar大鼠,于每周前3天连续腹腔注射0．5％二甲基亚硝胺（Dimethylnitrosamine,DMN）制备大鼠肝纤维化模型,2周末取模型组6只做动态观察。第3周初开始,在持续造模的同时给予茵陈蒿汤干预治疗到4周末,正常组与模型对照组给予等量生理盐水。4周末在3％戊巴比妥钠腹腔注射麻醉情况下,杀鼠取材,检测肝功能、肝组织病理、肝组织羟脯氨酸含量、胶原半定量,并采用基因芯片检测分析茵陈蒿汤对模型大鼠肝组织基因表达谱的影响。结果：与正常组比较,造模4周大鼠血清肝功能水平明显升高（P＜0．01）;病理观察肝组织炎细胞显著浸润,胶原显著沉积（P＜0．01）,肝组织白介素1（IL-1 b）、Cd68、肿瘤坏死因子受体超家族成员14（Tnfrsf14）、肿瘤坏死因子受体超家族成员9（Tnfrsf9）、TNF受体超家族成员6（Fas）、Cd14、结缔组织生长因子（Ctgf）、Ⅰ型胶原α2（Col1 a2）、胰岛素样生长因子结合蛋白（Igfals）、胰岛素样生长因子1（Igf1）、胰岛素样生长因子结合蛋白1（Igfbp1）、基质金属蛋白酶12（Mmp12）、基质金属蛋白酶2（Mmp2）、基质金属蛋白酶23（Mmp23）、趋化因子配体21（Ccl21）、蛋白激酶Cβ（Prkcb）基因表达明显上调,MAPK通路被激活。经2周治疗后茵陈蒿汤能显著降低DMN诱导的大鼠血清肝功能水平,抑制组织炎细胞的浸润与坏死,胶原沉积,并下调了肝组织IL-1 b、Cd68、Tnfrsf14、Tn-frsf9、Fas、Cd14、Ctgf、Col1 a2、Igfals、Igf1、Igfbp1、Mmp12、Mmp2、Mmp23、Ccl21、Prkcb 基因的表达,抑制了MAPK通路的活化。通过全基因芯片的分析,在茵陈蒿汤干预治疗后基因表达得到了不同程度的修复。结论：验证了“方证相关时,方剂对机体基因的调控遵循‘无差错修复’原则”的假说;茵陈蒿汤显著抑制DMN 诱导肝纤维化形成,其机制可能是调控了KCs,抑制相关炎症因子的释放,同时可能参与调控MAPK通路,从而达到抗肝纤维化的作用。     

Coexistence of competing juvenile–adult structured populations

The Leslie-Gower model is a discrete time analog of the competition Lotka–Volterra model and is known to possess the same dynamic scenarios of that famous model. The Leslie–Gower model played a historically significant role in the history of competition theory in its application to classic laboratory experiments of two competing species of flour beetles (carried out by Park in the 1940s–1960s). While these experiments generally supported what became the Competitive Exclusion Principle, Park observed an anomalous coexistence case. Recent literature has discussed Park’s ‘coexistence case’ by means of non-Lotka–Volterra, non-equilibrium dynamics that occur in a high dimensional model with life cycle stages. We study this dynamic possibility in the lowest possible dimension, that is to say, by means of a model involving only two species each with two life cycle stages. We do this by extending the Leslie–Gower model so as to describe the competitive interaction of two species with juvenile and adult classes. We give a complete account of the global dynamics of the resulting model and show that it allows for non-equilibrium competitive coexistence as competition coefficients are increased. We also show that this phenomenon occurs in a general class of models for competing populations structured by juvenile and adult life cycle stages.     

Transfer of Natural Micro Structures to Bionic Lightweight Design Proposals

The abstraction of complex biological lightweight structure features into a producible technical component is a funda- mental step within the transfer of design principles from nature to technical lightweight solutions. A major obstacle for the transfer of natural lightweight structures to technical solutions is their peculiar geometry. Since natural lightweight structures possess irregularities and often have extremely complex forms due to elaborate growth processes, it is usually necessary to simplify their design principles. This step of simplification/abstraction has been used in different biomimetic methods, but so far, it has an arbitrary component, i.e. it crucially depends on the competence of the person who executes the abstraction. This paper describes a new method for abstraction and specialization of natural micro structures for technical lightweight compo- nents. The new method generates stable lightweight design principles by using topology optimization within a design space of preselected biological archetypes such as diatoms or radiolarian. The resulting solutions are adapted to the technical load cases and production processes, can be created in a large variety, and may be further optimized e.g. by using parametric optimization.     

使用估计的反应自由能预测组成性和可变剪接位点

基因结构预测中的一个重要步骤是精确地识别剪接位点。基于剪接反应的基本物理原则,最大信息原理被应用到剪接反应的理论分析中,进而导出了反应自由能估计表达式。作为一个简化模型,这个表达式能被用来估计一个5′剪接区或者3′剪接区所参与的剪接反应中的自由能变化。它不但较全面地概括了各个碱基之间的关联,而且还考虑了基因组背景概率的影响。这个反应自由能表达式被用来预测了人类基因中的组成性和可变剪接位点,预测结果是令人满意的,其预测能力比得上当前的一些流行方法。这说明最大信息原理可以作为研究某些核酸-蛋白质相互作用系统（如剪接反应）的理论出发点,导出的反应自由能表达式较好地符合了剪接反应过程。     

Reflections on biosystems motivating supramolecular engineering

Some goals of bioelectronics—interfacing biology and electronics — are the understanding of supramolecular bioprocesses and the construction of supramolecular devices. The principles for the design and fabrication of machineries with functional components of molecular size are inspired by reflecting on biosystems, and it seems important to consider such principles. We first discuss attempts to construct supramolecular machines, and then we consider the bacterial reaction centre as an example where supramolecular engineering helps to elucidate a bioprocess. We then discuss possible mechanisms leading to the emergence of life-like systems in the light of the basic principles used to design supramolecular devices. Finally, we reflect on prospects in molecular engineering inspired by studying the emergence of life-like systems.     

Is the Profile of Fatty Acids,Tocopherols, and Amino Acids Suitable to Differentiate Pinus armandii Suspicious to Be Responsible for the Pine Nut Syndrome from Other Pinus Species?

Pinus armandii is suspicious to be responsible for the Pine Nut Syndrome, a long lasting bitter and metallic taste after the consumption of pine nuts. To find chemical characteristic features for the differentiation of P. armandii from other Pinus species, 41 seed samples of the genus Pinus from 22 plant species were investigated regarding the content and the composition of fatty acids, tocopherols, and amino acids. The predominant fatty acids in the seed oils were linoleic acid (35.2 – 58.2 g/100 g), oleic acid (14.6 – 48.5 g/100 g), and pinolenic acid (0.2 – 22.4 g/100 g), while the vitamin‐E‐active compounds were dominated by γ‐tocopherol. The amino acid composition was mainly characterized by arginine and glutamic acid with amounts between 0.9 and 8.9 g/100 g as well as 2.1 g/100 g and 8.3 g/100 mg. On the basis of this investigation, a Principle Component Analysis has been used to identify the most important components for the differentiation of P. armandii from other Pinus species. Using the data for glutamic acid, 20:2Δ^5,11, 18:3Δ^5,9,12, 18:1Δ⁹, and oil content, a classification of the 41 samples into four different groups by cluster analysis was possible, but the characteristic features of P. armandii were too close to some other members of the genus Pinus, making a clear differentiation of this species difficult. Nevertheless, the investigation showed the similarities of different members of the genus Pinus with regard to fatty acids, vitamin‐E‐active compounds, and amino acids.     

Nitric Oxide Cycle in Mammals and the Cyclicity Principle

This paper continues a series of reports considering nitric oxide (NO) and its cyclic conversions in mammals. Numerous facts are summarized with the goal of developing a general concept that would allow the statement of the multiple effects of NO on various systems of living organisms in the form of a short and comprehensive law. The current state of biological aspects of NO research is analyzed in term of elucidation of possible role of these studies in the system of biological sciences. The general concept is based on a notion on cyclic conversions of NO and its metabolites. NO cycles in living organisms and nitrogen turnover in the biosphere and also the Bethe nitrogen–carbon cycle in star matter are considered. A hypothesis that the cyclic organization of processes in living organisms and the biosphere reflects the evolution of life is proposed: the development of physiological functions and metabolism are suggested to be closely related to space and evolution of the Earth as a planet of the Solar System.     

GRAZING OPTIMIZATION,NUTRIENT CYCLING,AND SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY OF PLANT‐HERBIVORE INTERACTIONS: SHOULD A PALATABLE PLANT EVOLVE?

Abstract.— Can the evolution of plant defense lead to an optimal primary production? In a general theoretical model, Loreau (1995) and de Mazancourt et al. (1998, 1999) have shown that herbivory could increase primary production up to a moderate rate of grazing intensity through recycling of a limiting nutrient, provided several conditions are fulfilled. In the present paper, we assume: (1) grazing intensity is controlled by plants through their level of palatability; and (2) plant fitness is determined by its productivity. We explore the conditions under which such an optimal production may be reached through natural selection. We model two competing plant types that differ only in palatability and are distributed in a patchy landscape determined by the plant‐herbivore interaction. Patch size is determined by herbivore behavior: herbivores recycle nutrient homogeneously within patches, but recycle nutrient proportionally to consumption between patches. The model shows that a strategy of intermediate palatability can be adaptive in response to a small herbivore that lives on and recycles nutrient around one or a few individual plants. For moderately small herbivores, plant palatability may evolve towards one of two local convergent strategies, depending on the initial conditions. For medium‐ to large‐sized herbivores, the nonpalatable strategy is always selected. We discuss the functional and evolutionary implications of these results, and suggest that the traditional dichotomy describing antagonistic and mutualistic interactions may be misleading.