Coenzyme Q10 in Equine Serum: Response to Supplementation

Although the importance of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in health and disease and its critical role in cellular bioenergetics have been well established in various species, there is a total lack of information on the role of CoQ10 in horses. Therefore, the present study was undertaken first to ascertain the occurrence of CoQ10 and/or possibly other homologs of coenzyme Q (CoQ) in horse serum, and then to examine the response to CoQ10 supplementation on serum CoQ10 concentration. The study was carried out with 2-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Total CoQ (reduced and oxidized forms) in serum was assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The data show that horse serum contains CoQ as CoQ10, at a much lower concentration as compared with that of humans and several other species. There is no evidence for the presence of coenzyme Q9 or other homologs of CoQ. On supplementation with CoQ10 at 800 mg a day (1.47 mg/kg body weight), there was a significant increase in serum CoQ10 concentration, approximately 2.7-fold at 60 days. CoQ10 supplementation at this dosage was found to be safe and well tolerated. Additional studies are needed to examine whether maintaining higher serum CoQ10 concentrations is of potential health benefit to the horses, as assessed by selected biochemical markers and also in terms of performance.     

鸡黑素皮质素受体-4多肽抗体的制备与鉴定

根据GenBank中报道的鸡黑素皮质素受体-4(melanocortin-4 receptor,MC4R)一级结构信息,用TMHMM 2.0和DNAstar软件分析MC4R蛋白的跨膜结构域、二级结构、疏水性、亲水性以及抗原性等,综合考虑抗体设计的其他因素,设计出1段15个氨基酸的多肽.将合成后的多肽与牛血清白蛋白(BSA)偶联,用与BSA偶联的MC4R多肽免疫新西兰兔,3个月后获取血清,亲和纯化出抗MC4R多肽抗体.通过ELISA法检测效价,Western blot和免疫组化法检测抗体特异性.通过该方法得到了高效价与高特异性的鸡MC4R多肽抗体,ELISA法测定其效价可达到1∶128 000,而且该抗体可用于免疫组化,说明所制备的鸡MC4R抗体具有高特异、高效价等特点,将为鸡MC4R基因的功能研究提供物质基础.     

马铃薯新品种——'川凉薯10号'

‘川凉薯10号’是由四川省凉山州西昌农业科学研究所与云南省农业科学院经济作物研究所合作选育,于2013年7月通过四川省农作物品种审定委员会审定。该品种母本为‘会顺23’,父本为‘S01-266’,2010²011年四川省区试,鲜薯平均产量1 476 kg/667 m2,比对照‘米拉’增产16.4%。‘川凉薯10号’干物质含量29.6%,淀粉含量22.9%,蛋白质含量2.66%,还原糖含量0.24%,维生素C含量18.3 mg/100 g FW。该品种抗晚疫病,高抗病毒病。     

Effects of curcumin analogue T83 on apoptosis of homologous nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells with different radioresistance

AIM：To compare the effect of T83 (a 4-arylidene curcumin analogue) on the apoptosis of homologous nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells with different radioresistance. METHODS：The effects of T83 on the viability, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), expression of procaspase-3/procaspase-9/Cyt-C proteins and relative PTEN/Akt/p27 mRNA expression in CNE-2R cells and CNE-2 cells were detected and compared by the methods of MTT assay, Hoechst staining, flow cytometry, Western blotting and qRT-PCR. RESULTS：T83 inhibited the viability of CNE-2R cells with the IC50 of 0.9,0.4 and 0.2 μmol/L for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h,respectively, which was more effective than that inhibiting the viability of CNE-2 cells with the IC50 of 1.8,0.5 and 0.4 μmol/L, respectively. After treated with T83 for 48 h, chromatin condensation, margination and splitting into a massive structure were observed in CNE-2R cells and CNE-2 cells,and the late apoptotic rate of CNE-2R cells was increased from 1.57% to 27.26%, which was higher than that of CNE-2 cells (1.74% to 8.15%). After treated with T83 for 36 h, the MMP in CNE-2R cells decreased by 87.71% and that decreased by 50.47% in CNE-2 cells. After treated with T83 for 48 h, the protein levels of procaspase-3 and procaspase-9 were decreased, and the protein level of Cyt-C was increased, which were more susceptible in CNE-2R cells than those in CNE-2 cells. After treated with T83 for 24 h, the relative mRNA expression of PTEN and p27 was significantly up-regulated, and the mRNA expression of Akt was down-regulated, which were more susceptible in CNE-2R cells than those in CNE-2 cells. CONCLUSION：Compared with CNE-2 cells, the inhibitory effect of T83 on the viability of CNE-2R cells is more specific by starting the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, which is due to the inhibition of PTEN/Akt/p27 signaling pathway.     

赣江源自然保护区森林生态系统服务功能价值初步评价

森林是地球上重要的生态系统,森林的生态系统服务功能价值非常丰富,而且是人类赖以生存的基础。采用直接市场法、成本法、替代工程法、碳税法等方法,对江西省赣江源自然保护区的森林生态系统服务功能价值进行分析和评估。结果表明：赣江源自然保护区森林生态系统服务功能总价值为（75．59-760．05）亿元,其中,林产品价值为0．02亿元,森林休闲游憩价值为2．08亿元,森林涵养水源价值为（1．40-675．00）亿元,森林土壤保持价值为49．56亿元,森林C02固定价值为（7．23-26．19）亿元,森林02释放价值为（7．20-15．30）亿元等。可以看出,林产品价值和森林休闲游憩价值在森林生态系统服务功能总价值中所占比例较小,表明赣江源自然保护区可开发利用的功能价值潜力巨大。赣江源自然保护区作为赣江流域的源头区,对整个流域的生态环境都具有重要作用和影响,因此,应该建立源头区的生态补偿机制,加强自然保护区的保护和生态环境建设,维持森林生态系统服务功能的完整性,实现社会经济的可持续发展。     

Absorption and Mobility of Boron in Young Citrus Plants

Boron (B) deficiency is widespread in Brazilian citrus orchards and has been considered an important soil constraint to citrus yield. The aim of this work was to study B uptake and its mobility in young citrus trees, under different B statuses, in two rootstocks. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, with ‘Valencia’ sweet orange trees budded on Rangpur lime or Swingle citrumelo. The plants were grown in pots containing nutrient solutions under either adequate or deficient B supply. Plants with different B levels were transplanted into solution with adequate level of B, enriched in ¹⁰B in different stages of development (vegetative growth and fruiting). About 20 to 35% of B content in the new parts of orange tree came from plant reserves. Boron mobility within the plant was influenced by its nutritional status; that is, the longer the period was that the plants were grown under deficient supply, the smaller was the mobility. Boron concentration in the sweet orange trees on Swingle was higher than that on Rangpur, suggesting higher demand of swingle Citrumelo for B.     

The relation between growth and leaf nitrogen concentration in Nandi setaria and some other tropical grasses

Abstract

The relative growth rate of tops (RT) of Nandi setaria (Setaria anceps cv. Nandi), kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum). pangola (Digitaria decumbens) and Biloela buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris cv. Biloela) in pot experiments was a curvilinear function of the % N in the blades of the youngest fully‐expanded leaves on vegetative tillers (leaf N). The mean RT's differed significantly between grasses, but the response curves did not deviate significantly from being parallel. The mean quadratic curve for vegetative growth of Nandi setaria predicted increasing RT as leaf 11 rises from below 1 to about 3%, and near‐maximum RT between 3 and 6% N.     

牛分枝杆菌CFP-10基因的表达和重组蛋白的纯化

根据GenBank中牛分枝杆菌的基因序列,设计合成一对扩增CFP-10基因完整ORF的特异性引物,以pET32a（＋）为载体构建重组表达载体CFP-10／pET32a（＋）。重组表达载体转化大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）,经0．9mmol／LIPTG37。C诱导3h后表达,收集菌体并裂解,裂解后上清和沉淀经SDS—PAGE分析,结果表明融合蛋白分子量分别为30kD,表达产物以可溶性存在于上清中,后经Ni．NTA吸附柱方法对目的蛋白进行纯化,经薄层凝胶扫描分析,纯化后的His融合蛋白纯度达95％,该CFP-10表达蛋白可作为体外诊断抗原,为进一步建立检测牛分枝杆菌的方法奠定基础。