Phylogenetic positions of seven poorly known species of Ferula (Apiaceae) with remarks on the phylogenetic utility of the plastid trnH-psbA,trnS-trnG,and atpB-rbcL intergenic spacers

Ferula L. is one of the most species-rich and taxonomically difficult genera of Apiaceae. In this study, we obtained nrDNA ITS sequences of seven poorly known species of Ferula (Ferula anatolica, Ferula sp. (tentatively identified as F. candelabrum by collectors), F. drudeana, F. huber-morathii, F. marmarica, F. talassica, and F. tunetana) and explored their phylogenetic positions using 148 ITS sequences of the subtribe Ferulinae from GenBank. Five of these newly sequenced species fall into three groups, corresponding to clades recognized in earlier molecular studies. Ferula sp. are added to clade, which is mostly composed of Central Asian species. This placement showed that identification as F. candelabrum was erroneous. The second clade, which is mostly composed of Mediterranean taxa, includes two species from North Africa: F. marmarica and F. tunetana. Despite the well-supported monophyly of this clade, the relationships inside this group need to be revised, as broadly distributed F. communis is paraphyletic with respect to other species. Ferula drudeana and F. huber-morathii, two narrow endemics from Turkey, are placed in the Central Asian clade. Two species, F. anatolica and F. talassica, do not fall into any of the recognized clades. In addition, we examined the sequence variation of three potentially highly variable pDNA regions, the trnH-psbA, trnS-trnG, and atpB-rbcL intergenic spacers, for a subset of 18 specimens. The resulting pDNA and ITS based phylogenetic trees were incongruent, as supported by significant ILD tests. The cause of this incongruence can be manifold, including hybridization, a lack of a phylogenetic signal, and homoplastic substitutions. Our analyses suggest that only trnS-trnG can be added to the list of pDNA markers used for phylogenetic studies of Ferula, as it has the highest number of parsimony informative characters and is easy to amplify from degraded material.     

Air pollution-induced placental epigenetic alterations in early life: a candidate miRNA approach

Particulate matter (PM) exposure during in utero life may entail adverse health outcomes in later-life. Air pollution's adverse effects are known to alter gene expression profiles, which can be regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). We investigate the potential influence of air pollution exposure in prenatal life on placental miRNA expression. Within the framework of the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort, we measured the expression of six candidate miRNAs in placental tissue from 210 mother-newborn pairs by qRT-PCR. Trimester-specific PM_2.5 exposure levels were estimated for each mother's home address using a spatiotemporal model. Multiple regression models were used to study miRNA expression and in utero exposure to PM_2.5 over various time windows during pregnancy. The placental expression of miR-21 (?33.7%, 95% CI: ?53.2 to ?6.2, P = 0.022), miR-146a (?30.9%, 95% CI: ?48.0 to ?8.1, P = 0.012) and miR-222 (?25.4%, 95% CI: ?43.0 to ?2.4, P = 0.034) was inversely associated with PM_2.5 exposure during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, while placental expression of miR-20a and miR-21 was positively associated with 1st trimester exposure. Tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was identified as a common target of the miRNAs significantly associated with PM exposure. Placental PTEN expression was strongly and positively associated (+59.6% per 5 µg/m³ increment, 95% CI: 26.9 to 100.7, P < 0.0001) with 3rd trimester PM_2.5 exposure. Further research is required to establish the role these early miRNA and mRNA expression changes might play in PM-induced health effects. We provide molecular evidence showing that in utero PM_2.5 exposure affects miRNAs expression as well as its downstream target PTEN.     

Lithium Ion Capacitors in Organic Electrolyte System: Scientific Problems,Material Development,and Key Technologies

Lithium ion capacitors (LICs), which are hybrid electrochemical energy storage devices combining the intercalation/deintercalation mechanism of a lithium‐ion battery (LIB) electrode with the adsorption/desorption mechanism of an electric double‐layer capacitor (EDLC) electrode, have been extensively investigated during the past few years by virtue of their high energy density, rapid power output, and excellent cycleability. In this review, the LICs are defined as the devices with an electrochemical intercalation electrode and a capacitive electrode in organic electrolytes. Both electrodes can serve as anode or cathode. Throughout the history of LICs, tremendous efforts have been devoted to design suitable electrode materials or develop novel type LIC systems. However, one of the key challenges encountered by LICs is how to balance the sluggish kinetics of intercalation electrodes with high specific capacity against the high power characteristics of capacitive electrode with low specific capacitance. Herein, the developments and the latest advances of LIC in material design strategies and key techniques according to the basic scientific problems are summarized. Perspectives for further development of LICs toward practical applications are also proposed.     

Effects of different cultivation material formulas on the growth and quality of Morchella spp.

To study the effects of different cultivation material formulas on the growth and quality of Morchella spp. With the cultivated species strains extracted from wild Morchella spp. in Diebu County, Gannan Prefecture as experimental materials, an experiment was designed and the data then obtained was anyalyzed using the single factor variable method. By measuring the pileus length, pileus perimeter, stipe length, stipe perimeter and yield as well as the ash content, total sugar content, crude protein content and crude fiber content of wild Morchella spp., the effects of four different cultivation material formulas on the growth and quality of Morchella spp. were studied. The result showed that the Morchella spp. cultivated using Formula 1, i.e., the formula to which Morchella spp. footing soil was added, grew best, and had the highest yield and the best quality; and the qualities of Morchella spps cultivated using other formulas decreased in a row. Formula 1 to which Morchella spp. footing soil was added had the optimal effect on promoting the growth and quality of Morchella spp.     

应用3D适形打印制备网状复合体对兔颅骨缺损的修复作用及安全性研究

目的:探讨采用3D适形打印技术制备的羟基磷灰石/聚乳酸网状复合体在兔颅骨缺损中的修复作用及安全性。方法:以24只新西兰兔为研究对象,以羟基磷灰石/聚乳酸为材料,采用3D适形打印技术制备网状复合体,于兔颅骨顶部制成两个颅骨全层缺损,分别为孔A(左)和孔B(右),孔A(阳性对照组)以自体颅骨为修复材料,孔B(实验组)以复合体为修复材料,观察缺损修复区域的形态学、影像学(X线及CT扫描)及组织学检查结果。结果:植入后24周时,形态学显示:阳性对照组可见致密的骨组织修复,与缺损边缘界限不清,实验组中支架孔隙内纤维组织由新生骨质取代,且新生骨成熟度较提高,材料表面有部分吸收。CT扫描观察显示:冠状面上,阳性对照组缺损修复区域与周围正常骨组织融合为一体,实验组修复材料与缺损边缘融合紧密,与周围正常骨组织结合良好,部分边缘结合不连贯。组织学观察显示:实验组材料部分降解,材料间隔可见新生骨小梁。研究中无实验动物死亡,皮肤切口处缝合良好,无皮下积液,无移植物脱出、红肿感染等情况出现。结论:以3D适形打印技术制备的羟基磷灰石/聚乳酸复合体对兔颅骨缺损有较好的修复作用,能促进缺损区域新骨的形成和生长,且安全性较高。     

Protein A chromatography resin lifetime—impact of feed composition

Adsorbent lifetime during protein A chromatography is not readily predicted or understood, representing a key challenge to be addressed for biopharmaceutical manufacturers. This article focuses on the impact of feed composition on the performance of a typical agarose‐based protein A resin across a lifetime of 50 cycles. Cycling studies were performed using three different feed materials with varying levels of feed components including proteases, histones, DNA, and nonhistone proteins. Changes in the process and quality attributes were measured. The DBCs were not seen to vary between conditions although there was a reduction in particle porosity in all cases. Fluorescence spectroscopy and LC‐MS/MS were used to identify the contribution and extent of fouling to the observed capacity loss. Residual protein A ligand density and deposition of foulants (HCP, residual mAb, and DNA) varied between the three feed materials. Resins cycled in feed materials containing high concentrations of HCP and histones were seen to have greater extents of capacity loss. The mode of performance loss, capacity loss, or impact on product quality was seen to vary depending on the feed material. The results indicate that feed material composition may be correlated to the rate and mode of resin aging as a basis for improved process understanding. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:412–419, 2018     

Detection of dermorphin-like immunoreactivity in immune tissues

Summary Site-directed antibodies against synthetic related dermorphin peptides have previously been produced and characterized. One of them, specifically recognizing the crucial ‘opioid message’ (the N-terminal part of the molecule Tyr-D-Ala-Phe-Gly), was used in the present study in order to detect and localize endogenous dermorphin-like molecules in immune tissues. Dermorphin-like peptides were found to be present in spleen and thymus of rat and mouse. The HPLC profile of the immunoreactive material showed a major peak at a retention time of 32±1 min. Purification of immune cells by panning procedures showed that both B and T cells contained this immunoreactive material. Biochemical characterization of the dermorphin-like immunoreactivity indicated that this material is a peptide resistant to aminopeptidase hydrolysis, suggesting the presence of a putative D-amino acid residue or a residue conferring resistance to a proteolytic process.     

Estimating the effective clearance rate and refiltration by zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, in a stratified reservoir

1. The grazing impact of zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha Pallas, is often evaluated by applying the individual filtration rate measured in the laboratory to the field abundance and then by comparing the total volume of water filtered with the whole lake volume. Since this approach overlooks refiltration, it overestimates the grazing impact of zebra mussels. To deal with this problem, the present authors developed an in situ method for collecting faeces and pseudofaeces to measure the actual volume of water that is cleared of suspended particles by Dreissena in a unit time under a given set of environmental conditions. This is termed the effective clearance rate (ECR). 2. The experiment was conducted in Hargus Lake, OH, U.S.A., a small thermally stratified reservoir, to test the effects of spatial aggregation, mussel density and the concentration of particulate inorganic matter (PIM) on the effective clearance rate of Dreissena. 3. Over 40 measurements, the ECR values ranged from 15.3 to 68.6 mL ind^??1 h^??1. Much of the variation can be explained by colony form, mussel density and seston concentration. The effects of these variables were all statistically significant. The average ECR for isolated individuals was higher than that for those in clumps (40.4 versus 32.8 mL ind^??1 h^??1), which is attributed to increased refiltration in the cores of the clumps. The ECR decreased with increased zebra mussel density because of intensified competition for food particles within the group. The ECR increased with increased PIM concentration in the lake water, which may be interpreted as a result of enhanced water mixing which ultimately caused increases in both sediment resuspension and particle delivery to the mussels. 4. Taking the filtration rates for a 20-mm mussel to be between 116 and 234 mL ind^??1 h^??1, based on data from the literature, the clumped mussels under the present experimental conditions would have a refiltration ratio between 3.4 and 6.9. 5. The present authors developed an areal clearance model which predicts that seston removal by the Dreissena population is limited by the particle delivery from the ambient water to the mussel bed and will reach a maximum value beyond which no further increase will occur with increased population density. 6. It is concluded that the direct grazing impact of zebra mussel on phytoplankton in thermally stratified lakes is much less effective than predicted from simple filtration rate estimation.