Butanol Extract of Acanthopanax senticosus (Rupr. et Maxim.) Harms Alleviates Atherosclerosis in Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet

This study investigated the effect of butanol extract of AS (ASBUE) on atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE^−/−) mice. The mice were administered ASBUE (390 or 130 mg/kg/day) or rosuvastatin (RSV) via oral gavage for eight weeks. In ApoE^−/− mice, ASBUE suppressed the abnormal body weight gain and improved serum and liver biochemical indicators. ASBUE remarkably reduced the aortic plaque area, improved liver pathological conditions, and lipid metabolism abnormalities, and altered the intestinal microbiota structure in ApoE^−/− mice. In the vascular tissue of ASBUE-treated mice, P-IKKβ, P-NFκB, and P-IκBα levels tended to decrease, while IκB-α increased in high fat-diet-fed atherosclerotic mice. These findings demonstrated the anti-atherosclerotic potential of ASBUE, which is mediated by the interaction between the gut microbiota and lipid metabolism and regulated via the Nuclear Factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. This work paves the groundwork for subsequent studies to develop innovative drugs to treat atherosclerosis.     

四川55种鱼生活史型的研究

四川５５种鱼生活史型的研究刁晓明,罗一兵李波（西南农业大学水产系,重庆６３０７１６）（重庆大学计算机系,６３００００）ＬｉｆｅＨｉｓｔｏｒｙＰａｔｔｅｒｎｓｏｆ５５ＦｉｓｈＳｐｅｃｉｅｓｉｎＳｉｃｈｕａｎ￥ＤｉａｏＸｉａｏｍｉｎｇ;ＬｕｏＹｉｂｉｎｇ...     

Complementing amino acid substitutions within loop 6 of the alpha/beta-barrel active site influence the CO2/O2 specificity of chloroplast ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

Photosynthesis-deficient mutant 45-3B of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii contains a chloroplast mutation that causes valine-331 to be replaced by alanine within the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. This amino acid substitution occurs in loop 6 of the alpha/beta-barrel active site, three residues distant from catalytic lysine-334. The mutation reduces the specific activity of the enzyme and also reduces its CO2/O2 specificity factor by 42%, but the amount of holoenzyme is unaffected. In a previous study, an intragenic-suppressor mutation, named S40-9D, was selected that causes threonine-342 to be replaced by isoleucine, thereby increasing the CO2/O2 specificity of the mutant enzyme by 36%. To determine which other residues might be able to complement the original mutation, nine additional genetically independent revertants have now been analyzed. Another intragenic suppressor, represented by mutation S61-2J, causes glycine-344 to be replaced by serine. This change increases the CO2/O2 specificity of the mutant enzyme by 25%. Of the revertants recovered and analyzed, the mutant enzyme was improved only due to true reversion or by intragenic suppression mediated by substitutions at residues 342 or 344. Changes in the physical properties of the two pairs of complementing substitutions indicate that steric effects within loop 6 are responsible for the observed changes in the CO2/O2 specificity of the enzyme.     

基于4种生态位模型的金钱松潜在适生区预测

金钱松（Pseudolarix amabilis）是我国特有孑遗植物,为国家II级保护植物。基于4种生态位模型（GARP、Bioclim、Domain和Maxent）预测金钱松潜在适生区,采用受试者工作特征曲线（Receiver Operating Characteristic,ROC）和Kappa统计量检验模型的预测效果。预测结果表明金钱松在浙江西北部、安徽南部、湖北南部、湖南北部以及江西北部表现为高度适生,并以这些地带为中心向外延伸至北纬24.43°-33.35°和东经106.41°-123.42°之间,4种模型预测结果的受试者工作特征曲线下面积（Area under recriver operating characteristic curve,AUC）平均值均大于0.9,Kappa平均值亦大于0.75,精度较高。通过"刀切法"分析得出年均温是预测金钱松潜在适生区的关键影响因子,可能为当前金钱松分布格局形成的决定因素。模拟金钱松在末次盛冰期和2070年气候条件下的分布,结果表明其分布格局随气候变化由"南扩北缩"变为"南缩北扩",未来分布面积将大幅减小,气候变化是导致其"南缩北扩"的主要驱动因子。建议在当前金钱松高适分布区域内（江西铜鼓县、湖南张家界和衡阳）建立自然保护区或种子园,并在未来气候条件下高适分布区域内（如安徽北部、河南南部、湖北东南部等地）通过人工引种辅助金钱松的北向迁移。     

视觉信号在中枢的整合：同步振荡产生的机理和功能

神经系统内各信息通道的信号间如何整合？一个可能的途径就是通过同步振荡来协调。本文对同怕研究进展作了回顾,侧重介绍了视皮怪内同步振荡的提出、实验依据、产生的机理和功能意义,并对可能的进展作了展望。     

菌根真菌的生理生态功能

菌根真菌是土壤中重要生物成员之一,不仅具有丰富的遗传多样性和物种多样性,其功能也是丰富多样,主要体现在：1）影响陆生植物起源、进化、演化与分布;2）促进植物的生长发育;3）提高植物的抗逆性;4）修复污染与退化土壤、改善土壤质量与健康状况;5）促进农林牧业的生产;6）保持生态平衡、稳定生态系统及其可持续生产力.随着技术发展和研究的深入,菌根真菌新功能将会不断被发现.     

Microsatellite Variations of Elite Setaria Varieties Released during Last Six Decades in China

Crop improvement is a multifaceted micro-evolutionary process, involving changes in breeding approaches, planting configurations and consumption preferences of human beings. Recent research has started to identify the specific genes or genomic regions correlate to improved agronomic traits, however, an apparent blank between the genetic structure of crop elite varieties and their improving histories in diverse modern breeding programs is still in existence. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) was one of the earliest cereal crops to be domesticated and served as a staple crop for early civilizations in China, where it is still widely grown today. In the present trial, a panel of foxtail millet elite varieties, which were released in the last sixty years in different geographical regions of China, was characterized using microsatellite markers (SSRs). A clear separation of two subpopulations corresponding to the two eco-geographical regions of foxtail millet production in China was identified by the dataset, which also indicated that in more recently released elite varieties, large quantities of accessions have been transferred from spring-sowing to summer-sowing ecotypes, likely as a result of breeding response to planting configurations. An association mapping study was conducted to identify loci controlling traits of major agronomic interest. Furthermore, selective sweeps involved in improvement of foxtail millet were identified as multi-diverse minor effect loci controlling different agronomic traits during the long-term improvement of elite varieties. Our results highlight the effect of transition of planting configuration and breeding preference on genetic evolvement of crop species.     

猫后内侧上雪氏区视神经元对运动棒反应的取向和方向特征

猫后内侧上雪区（ｐｏｓｔｅｒｏｍｅｄｉａｌｌａｔｅｒａｌｓｕｐｒａｓｙｌｖｉａｎａｒｅａ,ＰＭＬＳ）的绝大多数神经元（１７１／２００）对运动棒的取向调谐,６２％（１２４／２００）细胞的取向调谐宽度（半高波宽）小于９０°：按方向选择性和取向选择性可分辨出几类特征明显的细胞类型：１、强取向和强方向选择性细胞;２、强取向调谐的双向选择细胞;３、弱取向调谐的强方向选择细胞;４、无取向无方向选择性细胞;以及５、特征不明显的或中间类型细胞。它们与最近光学记录揭示的鹰猴中颞叶视区（ｍｉｄｄｌｅｔｅｍｐｏｒａｌｖｉｓｕａｌａｒｅａ,ＭＴ）的组织有很好的吻合。     

城市生态系统中AM真菌侵染与群落结构特征

丛枝菌根(AM)真菌作为土壤微生物的重要成员之一,对城市生态系统可持续发展具有重要意义.本文系统总结了城市生态系统中AM真菌着生状况和群落结构特点,探讨了城市生态因子,如人类行为、植被重建与维护、城市土壤状况等对AM真菌着生状况和群落结构的影响,认为今后应加强城市生态系统中AM真菌群落结构与功能的研究,如关键城市生态因子(如水资源匮乏、热岛效应等)改变AM真菌群落结构的效应与机制.     

SUZ12 is a novel putative oncogene promoting tumorigenesis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

The suppressor of zest 12 (SUZ12), one of the core polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) components, has increasingly appreciated as a key mediator during human tumorigenesis. However, its expression pattern and oncogenic roles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain largely unexplored yet. Here, we sought to determine its expression pattern, clinicopathological significance and biological roles in HNSCC. Through data mining and interrogation from multiple publicly available databases, our bioinformatics analyses revealed that SUZ12 mRNA was significantly overexpressed in multiple HNSCC patient cohorts. Moreover, SUZ12 protein was markedly up‐regulated in primary HNSCC samples from our patient cohort as assessed by immunohistochemical staining and its overexpression significantly associated with cervical node metastasis and reduced overall and disease‐free survival. In the 4‐nitroquinoline 1‐oxide (4NQO)‐induced HNSCC mouse model, increased SUZ12 immunostaining was observed along with disease progression from epithelial hyperplasia to squamous cell carcinoma in tongue. Furthermore, shRNA‐mediated SUZ12 knock‐down significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in HNSCC cells, and resulted in compromised tumour growth in vivo. Collectively, our data reveal that SUZ12 might serve as a putative oncogene by promoting cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and also a novel biomarker with diagnostic and prognostic significance for HNSCC.