耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C定性检测方法

转基因耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C是经过改造的转mG2-aroA基因耐草甘膦玉米新品系,具有更高的草甘膦耐受性,目前已完成生产性试验,具有重要的产业化应用前景。但目前尚无针对G1105E-823C的转化体特异性检测方法的相关报道,这十分不利于对该品系的检测及监管。基于此,以G1105E-823C转化体特异性序列为靶标,建立了转基因耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C的普通PCR和实时荧光PCR定性检测方法。结果表明,2种方法均能检测出转基因耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C转化体成分,且具有较高的特异性。普通PCR检测方法检出限达0.1%,实时荧光PCR检测方法检出限达0.05%。研究建立的2种定性检测方法为转基因耐除草剂玉米G1105E-823C的精准检测提供了新的技术手段,可为农业转基因监管提供技术支撑。     

The efficacy of DNA barcoding in the classification,genetic differentiation,and biodiversity assessment of benthic macroinvertebrates

Macroinvertebrates have been recognized as key ecological indicators of aquatic environment and are the most commonly used approaches for water quality assessment. However, species identification of macroinvertebrates (especially of aquatic insects) proves to be very difficult due to the lack of taxonomic expertise in some regions and can become time‐consuming. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of DNA barcoding for the classification of benthic macroinvertebrates and investigated the genetic differentiation in seven orders (Insecta: Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Odonata) from four large transboundary rivers of northwest China and further explored its potential application to biodiversity assessment. A total of 1,144 COI sequences, belonging to 176 species, 112 genera, and 53 families were obtained and analyzed. The barcoding gap analysis showed that COI gene fragment yielded significant intra‐ and interspecific divergences and obvious barcoding gaps. NJ phylogenetic trees showed that all species group into monophyletic species clusters whether from the same population or not, except two species (Polypedilum. laetum and Polypedilum. bullum). The distance‐based (ABGD) and tree‐based (PTP and MPTP) methods were utilized for grouping specimens into Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) and delimiting species. The ABGD, PTP, and MPTP analysis were divided into 177 (p = .0599), 197, and 195 OTUs, respectively. The BIN analysis generated 186 different BINs. Overall, our study showed that DNA barcoding offers an effective framework for macroinvertebrate species identification and sheds new light on the biodiversity assessment of local macroinvertebrates. Also, the construction of DNA barcode reference library of benthic macroinvertebrates in Eurasian transboundary rivers provides a solid backup for bioassessment studies of freshwater habitats using modern high‐throughput technologies in the near future.     

Large-Area,Low-Cost Infrared Metamaterial Fabrication Via Pulsed Laser Deposition with Metallic Mesh as a Shadow Mask

Metamaterials are artificial periodic structures with negative permittivity and permeability. Several interesting properties can be obtained in metamaterials, such as negative index behavior, which can be used for building perfect lenses, cloaking, antennas, etc. As the metamaterial’s properties are determined by its structure, the key challenge is to reduce the fabrication cost of the periodic structure on the micrometer or nanometer scale for realistic applications. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate a new one-step method for the fabrication of a large-area infrared metamaterial at extremely low cost. A metallic mesh is used as a shadow mask during the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) process to fabricate a FeNi/SiC/FeNi multilayer sandwich structure on Si substrate (cm² level). The sample shows a strong absorption peak in the infrared frequency range, and the absorption intensity changes with the sample’s geometry.     

lncRNA MALAT1 mediated high glucose–induced HK-2 cell epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and injury

Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry - Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and injury of tubular cells play critical roles in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN). lncRNA...     

Leucine ureido derivatives as aminopeptidase N inhibitors using click chemistry. Part II

Aminopeptidase N (APN) has been proved to be deeply associated with cancer angiogenesis, metastasis and invasion. Therefore, APN gains increasing attention as a promising anti-tumor target. In the current study, we report the design, synthesis, biological evaluation and structure-activity relationship of one new series of leucine ureido derivatives containing the 1,2,3-triazole moiety. Among them, compound 31f was identified as the best APN inhibitor with IC₅₀ value being two orders of magnitude lower than that of the positive control bestatin. Compound 31f possessed selective cytotoxicity to several tumor cell lines over the normal cell line human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Notably, when combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu), 31f exhibited synergistic anti-proliferation effect against several tumor cell lines. At the same concentration, 31f exhibited much better anti-angiogenesis activities than bestatin in the HUVECs capillary tube formation assay and the rat thoracic aorta rings test. In the in vitro anti-invasion assay, 31f also exhibited superior potency over bestatin. Moreover, considerable in vivo antitumor potencies of 31f alone or in combination with 5-Fu were observed without significant toxic signs in a mouse heptoma H22 tumor transplant model.     

更新世中期中国古人类演化区域连续性与多样性的化石证据

以往,在东亚大陆发现的更新世中期人类化石被分别归入直立人和古老型智人。这种分类的主要依据是化石形态特征以及年代。魏敦瑞对周口店第一地点人类化石研究描述的一些头骨、下颌骨和牙齿特征通常被作为判定直立人的标准。根据这些化石的年代分布,一般将30万年前的中更新世晚期作为划分直立人与古老型智人的大致年代界限。近20年来,在非洲、欧洲和东亚新发现了一些更新世中期人类化石,目前古人类学界对中国更新世中期人类化石特征及演化有了与以往不同的认识。最近对大荔、许家窑、盘县大洞、许昌、华龙洞等人类化石的研究显示,近30万年以来东亚大陆人类演化呈现复杂的多样性,将这一时期人类全部归入古老型智人难以准确反映更新世中期中国古人类演化模式及规律。本文结合近年中国更新世中期人类演化研究进展,选择部分具有演化及分类价值的形态特征,分析这些特征在更新世中期中国古人类化石的表现特点。在此基础上,对更新世中期中国古人类演化模式做了尝试性探讨。本研究发现,周口店、和县、沂源、南京等中更新世早期人类化石呈现有较多的区域性特征,形态特征表现相对稳定;而大荔、金牛山、许家窑、许昌、华龙洞、马坝、盘县大洞等中更新世晚期人类在化石形态特征表现复杂多样,变异范围大。此外,在这一时期人类化石上发现较多与生存活动、健康、环境适应有关的证据。根据这些发现,作者认为中国中更新世早期组人类演化以形态连续性为主;进入中更新世晚期,中国古人类演化区域性特征减弱,演化模式以多样性为主。一系列新的化石发现和研究证据提示中更新世晚期东亚大陆可能生存有不同的古人类成员。根据目前掌握的化石形态和年代证据,大约30万年前是中国更新世中期演化变化关键时间节点。     

Prediction of Perioperative Cardiac Events through Preoperative NT-pro-BNP and cTnI after Emergent Non-Cardiac Surgery in Elderly Patients

Objectives

Clinical risk stratification has an important function in preoperative evaluation of patients at risk for cardiac events prior to non-cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to determine whether the combined measurement of pre-operative N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) could provide useful prognostic information about postoperative major adverse cardiac events (MACE) within 30 days in patients aged over 60 years undergoing emergent non-cardiac surgery.

Methods

The study group comprised 2519 patients aged over 60 years that were undergoing emergent non-cardiac surgery between December 2007 and December 2013. NT-pro-BNP and cTnI were measured during hospital admission. The patients were monitored for MACE (cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, or cardiac arrest) during the 30-day postoperative follow-up period.

Results

MACE occurred in 251 patients (10.0%). Preoperative NT-pro-BNP and cTNI level were significantly higher in the individuals that experienced MACE than in those who did not (P < 0.001). The confounding factors of age, sex, co-morbidities and preoperative medications were adjusted in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. This analysis showed that preoperative NT-proBNP level > 917 pg/mL (OR 4.81, 95% CI 3.446–6.722, P < 0.001) and cTnI ≥ 0.07 ng/mL (OR 8.74, 95% CI 5.881–12.987, P < 0.001) remained significantly and independently associated with MACE after the adjustment of the confounding factors. Kaplan-Meier event-free survival curves demonstrated that patients with preoperative simultaneous NT-proBNP level > 917 pg/mL and cTnT ≥0.07 ng/mL had worse event-free survival than individual assessments of either biomarker.

Conclusion

Preoperative plasma NT-proBNP and cTnI are both independently associated with an increased risk of MACE in elderly patients after emergent non-cardiac surgery. The combination of these biomarkers provides better prognostic information than using either biomarker separately.