Specific tropism of HIV-1 for microglial cells in primary human brain cultures

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) frequently causes neurological dysfunction and is abundantly expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients with HIV encephalitis or myelopathy. The virus is found mostly in cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage within the CNS, but the possibility of infection of other glial cells has been raised. Therefore, the effects of different HIV-1 and HIV-2 strains were studied in primary cultures of adult human brain containing microglial cells, the resident CNS macrophages, and astrocytes. These cultures could be productively infected with macrophage-adapted HIV-1 isolates but not with T lymphocyte-adapted HIV-1 isolates or two HIV-2 isolates. As determined with a triple-label procedure, primary astrocytes did not express HIV gag antigens and remained normal throughout the 3-week course of infection. In contrast, virus replicated in neighboring microglial cells, often leading to their cell fusion and death. The death of microglial cells, which normally serve immune functions in the CNS, may be a key factor in the pathogenesis of AIDS encephalitis or myelopathy.     

Identification of mutations in the COL4A5 collagen gene in Alport syndrome

X-linked Alport syndrome is a hereditary glomerulonephritis in which progressive loss of kidney function is often accompanied by progressive loss of hearing. Ultrastructural defects in glomerular basement membranes (GBM) of Alport syndrome patients implicate an altered structural protein as the cause of nephritis. The product of COL4A5, the alpha 5(IV) collagen chain, is a specific component of GBM within the kidney, and the gene maps to the same X chromosomal region as does Alport syndrome. Three structural aberrations were found in COL4A5, in intragenic deletion, a Pst I site variant, and an uncharacterized abnormality, which appear to cause nephritis and deafness, with allele-specific severity, in three Alport syndrome kindreds in Utah.     

Subcellular calcium transients visualized by confocal microscopy in a voltage-clamped vertebrate neuron

Confocal laser-scanned microscopy and long-wavelength calcium (Ca2+) indicators were combined to monitor both sustained and rapidly dissipating Ca2+ gradients in voltage-clamped sympathetic neurons isolated from the bullfrog. After a brief activation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels, Ca2+ spreads inwardly, and reaches the center of these spherical cells in about 300 milliseconds. Although the Ca2+ redistribution in the bulk of the cytosol could be accounted for with a radial diffusion model, local nonlinearities, suggesting either nonuniform Ca2+ entry or spatial buffering, could be seen. After electrical stimulation, Ca2+ signals in the nucleus were consistently larger and decayed more slowly than those in the cytosol. A similar behavior was observed when release of intracellular Ca2+ was induced by caffeine, suggesting that in both cases large responses originate from Ca2+ release sites near or within the nucleus. These results are consistent with an amplification mechanism involving Ca2(+)-induced Ca2+ release, which could be relevant to activity-dependent, Ca2(+)-regulated nuclear events.     

基于杉木模板的Zn2+掺杂TiO2的光催化性能研究

  目的  针对木材加工行业带来的加工剩余物浪费问题,本研究以杉木为模板,通过浸渍–煅烧的方法,制备具有木材分级多孔结构的Zn2+掺杂TiO₂复合光催化剂,利用木材加工剩余物的高值化利用的方式提高光催化材料的性能。  方法  以亚甲基蓝溶液为降解对象,探讨了不同的Zn2+掺杂对木材模板TiO₂的光催化活性的影响,并结合XRD、SEM、XPS、BET、TEM和UV-vis等表征分析探讨模板二氧化钛的光催化降解机制。  结果  以杉木为模板的Zn-TiO₂具有良好的孔隙结构,其晶型为锐钛矿型和少量的金红石型的混晶结构,平均晶粒尺寸为22.0 nm。掺杂的Zn2+取代了Ti4+的晶格的位置,使TiO₂吸收波长在可见光区发生红移。在紫外光照射条件下,杉木模板1.0%Zn-TiO₂对亚甲基蓝的降解效率最高,达到了99.31%,相比无模板TiO₂提升了27%,同时其禁带宽度相比于无模板TiO₂从3.08 eV减小至2.41 eV。在循环降解亚甲基蓝的实验中,5次降解效率均达到90%以上。  结论  采用木材模板法制备的Zn-TiO₂光催化降解有机污染物性能优异,具有良好的稳定性。木材独特的孔隙结构有利于光的吸收和传质,较高的比表面积为光催化提供了更多的活性位点。Zn2+与被替代的Ti4+由于半径和价态差异使晶格内产生晶格缺陷,抑制了光生电子–空穴的复合,增加了载流子的运输,从而提高光催化性能。将木材剩余物的加工与多孔无机材料领域相结合,对木材加工剩余物的功能化转变具有潜在的应用前景。      

Mapping QTLs for Yield Stability in Durum Wheat Grown under Different Water Regimes

Among the most important Mediterranean annual crops, durum wheat is widely grown in drought-prone areas. Therefore, improving water-use efficiency （WUE） of durum wheat represents a major breeding goal. IDu-WUE （Improving Durum wheat for Water Use Efficiency and yield stability through physiological and molecular approaches） is a collaborative project among public and private research centres in Italy, Spain and WANA （West Asia and North Africa） countries （Morocco, Tunisia, Syria and Lebanon） funded by the European Union aimed at investigating the genetic variation for WUE and yield stability in durum wheat grown in Mediterranean droughtprone areas. During the first year of the project, a number of morpho-physiological traits （e.g. early vigour, flowering time, leaf rolling, number of fertile tillers, etc.）, WUE, WUE-related traits （e.g. carbon isotope discrimination, canopy temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence, etc.）, yield and its components have been investigated in a RIL population （249 lines） and a collection of ca. 190 durum wheat accessions characterized by a high level of linkage disequilibrium （Maccaferri et al., 2005）,     

Plackett-burman设计法筛选超声波提取苹果多酚工艺的主要影响因子

以苹果鲜渣为原料,利用超声波辅助提取苹果渣中的多酚。在单因素实验的基础上,采用Plackett Burman试验设计对超声波提取的因素进行了研究,筛选出对超声波提取苹果多酚具有显著影响的因子:温度(p=0.0334)、乙醇体积分数(p=0.0241)和提取次数(p=0.0237)。     

Evaluation of seedling and adult plant resistance to stem rust in European wheat cultivars

A total of 105 European wheat cultivars were assessed for seedling and adult plant resistance (APR) to stem rust using an array of Australian isolates of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici. Twenty-seven cultivars were susceptible at both seedling and adult plant growth stages. Twelve catalogued seedling stem rust resistance genes (Sr7b, Sr8a, Sr8b, Sr9b, Sr9g, Sr11, Sr15, Sr17, Sr29, Sr31, Sr36 and Sr38) were detected in the remaining cultivars, and 13 cultivars carried additional seedling resistance genes that could not be postulated with the isolates used. Low levels of APR to stem rust were found in the cultivars Artaban, Forno, Mec, Mercia, Pandas and Vlada. Although the genetic identity of this APR was not determined, it was clear that the only designated stem rust APR gene Sr2 was not present in any of the cultivars tested based on the absence of the linked traits seedling chlorosis and pseudo black chaff. One of these cultivars, Forno, is believed to carry the leaf rust APR gene Lr34, previously reported to be associated with improved resistance to stem rust. A detailed genetic characterisation of the APRs in these cultivars will be needed to understand their modes of inheritance and relationships with catalogued stem rust resistance genes. Such knowledge may help in developing cultivars with effective gene combinations that confer higher levels of protection.     

Evaluation of common wheat cultivars for tan spot resistance and chromosomal location of a resistance gene in the cultivar 'Salamouni'

A total of 50 wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars were evaluated for resistance to tan spot, using Pyrenophora tritici‐repentis race 1 and race 5 isolates. The cultivars ‘Salamouni’, ‘Red Chief’, ‘Dashen’, ‘Empire’ and ‘Armada’ were resistant to isolate ASC1a (race 1), whereas 76% of the cultivars were susceptible. Chi‐squared analysis of the F₂ segregation data of hybrids between 20 monosomic lines of the wheat cultivar ‘Chinese Spring’ and the resistant cultivar ‘Salamouni’ revealed that tan spot resistance in ‘Salamouni’ was controlled by a single recessive gene located on chromosome 3A. This gene is designated tsn4. The resistant cultivars identified in this study are recommended for use in breeding programmes to improve tan spot resistance in common wheat.     

The critical N dilution curve for linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is different from other C3 species

The objective was to determine the critical N dilution curve of linseed, which is the minimal total N concentration in shoots necessary to produce the maximal shoot dry matter, and to explain possible differences with other C3 species. One main experiment was carried out in 1998/1999 on winter linseed with four levels of fertilizer N. Two plant densities were also studied, the recommended one (600 seeds m⁻²) and the minimum for canopy closure (150 seeds m⁻²), in order to investigate the stability with plant density of the critical N dilution curve. Shoot dry weights (W_S) and shoot N contents expressed in percentage (N_S) were measured for the determination of the critical dilution curve, along with organ N percentages and relative weights. The results of four other experiments were used to validate the critical N dilution curve. Three of these four trials were conducted on winter linseed (one in 1996/1997 and two in 1997/1998) with five levels of fertilizer N, and one on spring linseed in 1999 with six levels of fertilizer N.

The critical N dilution curve of linseed was different from those of other C3 species. The curve was steeper, indicating a greater decrease in the critical shoot N concentration (N_SC) as the critical shoot dry weight (W_SC) increased. This linseed curve determined with the data of the main experiment was relevant when compared to the data of the four other experiments. Organ weight ratios and N concentration of organs were investigated in a fertilizer N treatment resulting in N_S close to the critical N values, N_SC. In this treatment, the decrease in N_S was the result of both a decrease in the N percentage of all organs and a decrease in the leaf weight ratio. The difference between linseed and other C3 species was mainly due to an acceleration of the dilution of N when leaf emission stopped and the flower bud emission began. At this stage of development, the leaf weight ratio of linseed was less than that of wheat, resulting in lower N_S. For a given W_S, no significant differences in N_S, organ N percentages nor organ weight ratios were observed between the two plant densities. This indicates that the difference between linseed and other C3 species could not result from very high plant densities in linseed. Hence, it is concluded that the linseed N accumulation in shoot is different from other C3 species.     

纳米氧化物对美托洛尔生物富集的影响研究

为揭示氧化物纳米颗粒（NPs）对离子型有机污染物在水生生物体内富集的影响,本研究考察了两种典型的氧化物NPs对鲤鱼富集β-阻断剂美托洛尔的影响以及美托洛尔在鱼体内各部位的分布,并通过批平衡实验进一步探讨了吸附解吸与生物富集的关系。结果表明：NPs共暴露时,在摄取阶段结束时美托洛尔生物浓缩因子（BCF）值增加了2.39倍（TiO₂ NPs）和3.49倍（SiO₂ NPs）。净化阶段鱼体内的美托洛尔半衰期由20.09d缩短到8.39d（TiO₂ NPs）和6.13d（SiO₂ NPs）,净化结束时鱼体内的美托洛尔残余浓度则略有升高。NPs的共暴露未改变鲤鱼摄取美托洛尔的途径,但显著升高了鱼鳃和内脏中美托洛尔的浓度。相对于TiO₂ NPs,SiO₂ NPs对美托洛尔具有更强的、且不可逆的吸附,使用Freundlich模型拟合的lg K_F值分别为2.21（TiO₂ NPs）和4.47（SiO₂ NPs）。研究表明NPs能够通过吸附载带促进鱼体对美托洛尔的富集,吸附态美托洛尔主要通过摄食和鳃的呼吸作用随NPs进入鱼体内,由NPs携带进入鱼体内的美托洛尔一部分发生解吸从而被鱼体利用,未发生解吸的部分随NPs的排出被排出体外。