Molecular cloning, prokaryotic expression and its application potential evaluation of interferon (IFN)-ω of forest musk deer

Forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) are currently a threatened species under conservation, and the development of captive populations is restricted by health problems. To evaluate the application potential of interferon (IFN)-ω in the prevention and control of forest musk deer disease, 5 forest musk deer IFN-ω (fmdIFNω) gene sequences were successfully obtained by homologous cloning method for the first time. FmdIFNω5 was selected and recombinant fmdIFNω protein (rIFNω) was successfully expressed by pGEX-6P-1 plasmid and E. coli expression system. The obtained protein was used to stimulate forest musk deer lung fibroblasts cells FMD-C1 to determine its regulatory effect on interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). In addition, an indirect ELISA method based on anti-rIFNω serum was established to detect endogenous IFN-ω levels in 8 forest musk deer. The results showed that there were 18 amino acid differences among the 5 fmdIFNω subtypes, all of which had the basic structure to exert the activity of type I IFN and were close to Cervus elaphus IFN-ω in the phylogenetic tree. The protein expressed was 48 kDa, and the transcription levels of all ISGs were increased in FMD-C1 cells stimulated by rIFNω, and the amount of transcription accumulation was time-dependent. Meanwhile, Anti-rIFNω serum of mice could react with both rIFNω and forest musk deer serum, and the OD450nm value of forest musk deer serum with the most obvious symptoms was the highest, suggesting that the level of natural IFN-ω in different forest musk deer could be monitored by the rIFNω-based ELISA method. These results indicate that fmdIFNω has the potential as an antiviral drug and an early indication of innate immunity, which is of great significance for the prevention and control of forest musk deer diseases.

Feeding Alginate-Coated Liquid Metal Nanodroplets to Silkworms for Highly Stretchable Silk Fibers

In this study, we fed the larval of Bombyx mori silkworms with nanodroplets of liquid metal (LM) coated with microgels of marine polysaccharides to obtain stretchable silk. Alginate-coated liquid metal nanodroplets (LM@NaAlg) were prepared with significant chemical stability and biocompatibility. This study demonstrates how the fed LM@NaAlg acts on the as-spun silk fiber. We also conducted a series of characterizations and steered molecular dynamics simulations, which showed that the LM@NaAlg additions impede the conformation transition of silk fibroins from the random coil and α-helix to the β-sheet by the formation of hydrogen bonds between LM@NaAlg and the silk fibroins, thus enhancing the elongation at the breakpoints in addition to the tensile properties. The intrinsically highly stretchable silk showed outstanding mechanical properties compared with regular silk due to its 814 MPa breaking strength and a breaking elongation of up to 70%—the highest reported performance so far. We expect that the proposed method can expand the fabrication of multi-functional silks.

[Detection of drug resistance genes of mycobacterium tuberculosis by rolling circle amplification technique with multicolor fluorescent probes]

The aim of this study was to construct a simple, rapid and ultra-sensitive optical biosensing technique based on rolling circle amplification (RCA), and to apply it to multiple detection of drug-resistant genes of mycobacterium tuberculosis. The common mutation sites of isoniazid, rifampicin and streptomycin resistance genes are katG315 (AGC➝ACC), rpoB531 (CAC➝TAC) and rpsL43 (AAG➝AGG). For these three gene sites, from February 2020 to May 2021, in the Department of Laboratory Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Military Medical University, the padlock probe (PLP), primers and capture probes were designed. And a solid-phase RCA constant temperature amplification reaction system based on magnetic beads was constructed and the experimental parameters were optimized. The RCA products were accurately captured by the multicolor fluorescent probes (Cy3/Cy5/ROX), and the single-tube multiple detection of three mutation genes was realized. The sensitivity, specificity and linear range of this method were further verified. The results showed that the response range of katG315 in the same reaction system ranged from 1.0 pmol/L to 0.1 nmol/L. The response range of rpoB531 and rpsL43 ranged from 1.0 pmol/L to 50.0 pmol/L and 1.0 pmol/L to 20.0 pmol/L, and the method had good specificity and sensitivity, and could accurately identify single base mutations in mixed targets, with the minimum detection limit as low as 1.0 pmol/L. The recoveries of simulated serum samples were 95.0%-105.2%. In conclusion, the constant temperature amplification multiple detection method constructed in this study can quickly realize the single-tube multiple detection of three drug resistance mutation sites. This technology is low-cost, simple and rapid, and does not rely on large equipment, providing a new analysis method for pathogen drug resistance gene detection.

Consistency between nasopharyngeal aspirates and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in pathogen detection in children with pneumonia: an analysis of 533 cases

OBJECTIVES

To study the consistency between nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in pathogen detection in children with pneumonia.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed on the data of pathogens detected in 533 children with pneumonia from February 2017 to March 2020. The paired McNemar's test was used to compare the difference in pathogen detection between NPA and BALF groups. The Kappa coefficient was used to analyze the consistency in pathogen detection between the two groups.

RESULTS

NPA had a sensitivity of 28%, a specificity of 74%, a positive predictive value of 14%, and a negative predictive value of 91% in detecting bacteria, and a Kappa coefficient of 0.013 suggested poor consistency between NPA and BALF. NPA had a sensitivity of 52%, a specificity of 81%, a positive predictive value of 24%, and a negative predictive value of 94% in detecting viruses, and a Kappa coefficient of 0.213 suggested poor consistency between NPA and BALF. NPA had a sensitivity of 78%, a specificity of 71%, a positive predictive value of 49%, and a negative predictive value of 90% in detecting Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and a Kappa coefficient of 0.407 suggested moderate consistency between NPA and BALF.

CONCLUSIONS

There is poor consistency between NPA and BALF in the detection of bacteria and viruses, and clinicians should be cautious in diagnosing lower respiratory tract infection based on bacteria or viruses detected in NPA. There is moderate consistency between NPA and BALF in the detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, suggesting that it may be reliable to diagnose lower respiratory tract infection based on Mycoplasma pneumoniae detected in NPA, while comprehensive judgment in combination with clinical conditions is needed.

A water drop-shaped slingshot in plants: geometry and mechanics in the explosive seed dispersal of Orixa japonica (Rutaceae)

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

In angiosperms, many species disperse their seeds autonomously by rapid movement of the pericarp. The fruits of these species often have long rod- or long plate-shaped pericarps, which are suitable for ejecting seeds during fruit dehiscence by bending or coiling. However, here we show that fruit with a completely different shape can also rely on pericarp movement to disperse seeds explosively, as in Orixa japonica.

METHODS

Fruit morphology was observed by hard tissue sectioning, scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography, and the seed dispersal process was analysed using a high-speed camera. Comparisons were made of the geometric characteristics of pericarps before and after fruit dehiscence, and the mechanical process of pericarp movement was simulated with the aid of the finite element model.

KEY RESULTS

During fruit dehydration, the water drop-shaped endocarp of O. japonica with sandwich structure produced two-way bending deformation and cracking, and its width increased more than three-fold before opening. Meanwhile the same shaped exocarp with uniform structure could only produce small passive deformation under relatively large external forces. The endocarp forced the exocarp to open by hygroscopic movement before seed launching, and the exocarp provided the acceleration for seed launching through a reaction force.

CONCLUSIONS

Two layers of water drop-shaped pericarp in O. japonica form a structure similar to a slingshot, which launches the seed at high speed during fruit dehiscence. The results suggest that plants with explosive seed dispersal appear to have a wide variety of fruit morphology, and through a combination of different external shapes and internal structures, they are able to move rapidly using many sophisticated mechanisms.

[Construction of microRNA-21 terahertz metamaterial sensing method based on duplex-specific nuclease triggered rolling circle amplification]

Objective: To construct of a terahertz metamaterial sensing method for detection of microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) based on duplex-specific nuclease triggered rolling circle amplification. Methods: First, a THz metamaterial sensing method was constructed, and verified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and zeta potential; after optimizing the detection conditions of the sensor, different concentrations of miRNA-21 and other different miRNAs were detected. And this biosensor was compared with other miRNA detection methods; finally, the recovery rate of the biosensor was evaluated. Results: Under the optimal experimental conditions, through the dual signal amplification strategy of duplex-specific nuclease (DSN) cycle recognition and rolling circle amplification (RCA), the THz metamaterial sensor has a response range of 10 fmol/L to 10 nmol/L to the target miRNA-21, with a detection limit of 8.49 fmol/L. And the biosensor has good specificity with the ability to recognize the target miRNA-21 from a variety of microRNAs. And the experiment with recovery rate from 94.33% to 115.33% has been further verified in commercial human serum samples. Conclusion: The terahertz biosensor can achieve highly sensitive and specific detection of the target miRNA-21, which proves the potential for label-free diagnosis and early warning of miRNA-related diseases.

Nectary tracks as pollinator manipulators: The pollination ecology of Swertia bimaculata (Gentianaceae)

Floral nectaries are closely associated with biotic pollination, and the nectar produced by corolla nectaries is generally enclosed in floral structures. Although some Swertia spp. (Gentianaceae), including S. bimaculata, evolved a peculiar form of corolla nectaries (known as “gland patches”) arranged in a conspicuous ring on the rotate corolla and that completely expose their nectar, little is known about the pollination of these plants. Two hypotheses were made concerning the possible effects of gland patches: visual attraction and visitor manipulation. The floral traits, mating system, and insect pollination of S. bimaculata were examined, and the pollination effects of gland patches were evaluated. A comparative study was made using Swertia kouitchensis, a species with fimbriate nectaries. Swertia bimaculata flowers were protandrous, with obvious stamen movement leading to herkogamy in the female phase and to a significant reduction in nectary–anther distance. The species is strongly entomophilous and facultatively xenogamous. The daily reward provided per flower decreased significantly after the male phase. The most effective pollinators were large dipterans, and the visiting proportion of Diptera was significantly higher in S. bimaculata than in S. kouitchensis. Most visitors performed “circling behavior” in S. bimaculata flowers. Removing or blocking the nectaries caused no reduction in visiting frequency but a significant reduction in visit duration, interrupting the circling behavior. The circling behavior was encouraged by nectar abundance and promoted pollen dispersal. Visitor species with small body size had little chance to contact the anthers or stigma, revealing a filtration effect exerted by the floral design. These results rejected the “visual attraction” hypothesis and supported the “visitor manipulation” hypothesis. The nectary whorl within a flower acted like a ring‐shaped track that urged nectar foragers to circle on the corolla, making pollination in S. bimaculata flowers more orderly and selective than that in classically generalist flowers.

Modulation of neuronal dynamic range using two different adaptation mechanisms

The capability of neurons to discriminate between intensity of external stimulus is measured by its dynamic range. A larger dynamic range indicates a greater probability of neuronal survival. In this study, the potential roles of adaptation mechanisms (ion currents) in modulating neuronal dynamic range were numerically investigated. Based on the adaptive exponential integrate-and-fire model, which includes two different adaptation mechanisms, i.e. subthreshold and suprathreshold (spike-triggered) adaptation, our results reveal that the two adaptation mechanisms exhibit rather different roles in regulating neuronal dynamic range. Specifically, subthreshold adaptation acts as a negative factor that observably decreases the neuronal dynamic range, while suprathreshold adaptation has little influence on the neuronal dynamic range. Moreover, when stochastic noise was introduced into the adaptation mechanisms, the dynamic range was apparently enhanced, regardless of what state the neuron was in, e.g. adaptive or non-adaptive. Our model results suggested that the neuronal dynamic range can be differentially modulated by different adaptation mechanisms. Additionally, noise was a non-ignorable factor, which could effectively modulate the neuronal dynamic range.

Floral development at multiple spatial scales in Polygonum jucundum (Polygonaceae), a distylous species with broadly open flowers

Distyly, a special polymorph, has evolved in many groups of angiosperms and has attracted attention since Darwin's time. Development studies on distylous taxa have helped us to understand the evolutionary process of this polymorph, but most of these studies focus on species with narrowly tubular corolla. Here, we studied the floral development of Polygonum jucundum, a distylous species with broadly open flowers, at multiple spatial scales. Results showed that the difference in stigma height between flowers of the two morphs was caused by differences in style growth throughout the entire floral development process. The observed difference in anther heights between the two morphs was because the filaments grew faster in short-styled (SS) than in long-styled (LS) flowers in the later stages of floral development. In addition, the longer styles in LS flowers than in SS flowers was because of faster cell division in the early stages of floral development. However, SS flowers had longer filaments than LS flowers primarily because of greater cell elongation. These results indicate that floral development in P. jucundum differs from that of distylous taxa with floral tubes shown in previous studies. Further, we conclude that the presence of distyly in species with open flowers is a result of convergent evolution.

[Relationship between gut origin bacteria and wound infection after thermal injury]

The pUC19 plasmid vector trace with restriction map analysis and fluorescence labelling bacteria method were applied to study the relationship between the gut origin bacteria and wound infection. According to the characteristic of pUC19 plasmid, a special animal model was designed. 110 Wistar rats received 30% TBSA full thickness burns. On hours 6, 12, 24, 48 and day 12 postburn, injured animal were killed. Subeschar tissue homogenates were examined under fluorescence microscope, and bacterial culture, isolation of plasmids and restriction map analysis were also carried out. The results show that during early stage of burns, 32.5% of fluorescence labelling bacteria and 10.81% of pUC19 plasmid vectors could be detected from the subeschar specimens. 12 day postburn, the detectable rage of pUC19 plasmid vector increased to 62.5%. Beside the factor of early colonization, the contaminative route form gut perineum and then wounds should be considered.

Monitoring and control of infection in patients after renal transplantation

Infection is a leading cause of death of renal transplantation and how to control it is still an urgent problem to be solved. Bacteria culture, computerized modified McGuckin's monitoring methods, OKT monoclonal antibody technique and radioimmunoassay (RIA) were used on studying the cause, monitoring and prevention of the infection. Results showed that 22 out of 24 cases (91.7%) were colonized by Gram-negative bacilli in pharynx and groin region. Of them, 15 were infected with the same bacteria in wound, urine, blood and lung. Six out of 7 cases with serious infection were colonized by Gram-negative bacilli on the surface of the whole body. The computerized modified McGuckin's method predicted and analyzed the infection outbreak much more fast and accurate, with a rate of over 80%. Helper/suppressor lymphocyte ratio of 1.08 was taken as a threshold value for the diagnosis of infection. The results suggested that the change of skin flora is closely related with the infection. Monitoring the alteration of skin flora is an effective method for the prevention and control of severe infection. The pharynx and groin regions of the patients are stable reservoirs of Gram-negative bacilli which may cause infection easily. Computerized quantitative analysis may increase the efficiency and accuracy of infection surveillance. In order to preserve the immune system as much as possible and prevent rejection of transplant graft, proper use of immunosuppressive drugs and regulation of the immune system of the patients are the key for preventing infection.

[Cytological features of small cell lung cancer--relation between nuclear chromatin change and chemotherapeutic effect]

This paper describes the relation between the cytologic features, change of chromatin and effect of chemotherapy in 75 cases of small cell lung cancer. Basing on the microscopic changes of the chromatin in the cancer cells, 4 types were observed: (1) chromatin evenly distributed with fine granules (2) chromatin evenly distributed with rough granules (3) chromatin sparsely distributed with rough granules (4) ink spot-like nuclei. Type 1 was found in 75.7% of the responders to chemotherapy while Type 3 was frequently observed in 69.2% of the non-responders. The results suggest that the changes of nuclear chromatin be used as an index to predict the response to chemotherapy, conforming to Takeshi's observation. Yet, in this series, the exfoliative cells were obtained from the sputum rather than Takeshi's brush during bronchoscopy. The authors believe that the changes of chromatin may be observed clearly if the sputum is fresh, smeared promptly and stained in the standard way.

Age-dependence of the chronotropic response to noradrenaline, acetylcholine and transmural stimulation in isolated rabbit atria

The chonotropic response to noradrenaline, tyramine, acetylcholine and transmural electrical stimulation was compared in atria isolated from rabbits at different stages of developmental after birth (day 2 to day 210). Pacemaker rates understeady state conditions were related inversely to days after birth; the rate in atria from rabbits at day 2 was significantly greater than that at days 10-210. The rate of neonatal rabbit atria was not significantly reduced by propranolol and the positive chontropic response to noradrenaline was not significantly reduced by propranolol and the positive chronotropic response to noradrenaline was not significantly different in atria from ages of rabbits as far as threshold concentrations for inducing tachycardia and ED50's were concerned. The maximum rate induced by noradrenaline was higher in neonatal rabbit atria than in adult rabbit atria. The effect of tyramine was approx. the same regardless of age. Increase in the pacemaker rate induced by transmural neural stimulation varied directly with age. The negative chronotropic effect of acetylcholine was greater in neonatal than in adult rabbit atria; the ED50 in the former was significantly less than in the latter. Bradycardia induced by transmural stimulation of intracardiac cholinergic nerves was related directly to age. Tachycardia in the neonatal rabbit atria may be due to electrogenic characteristics of pacemaker cells which differ from those in adult rabbit atria. Our evidence strongly suggests that the adrenergic and cholinergic nerves innervating the S-A node develop at an early postnatal stage in the rabbit.

Serotonin antagonism in isolated canine cerebral arteries

In helically-cut strips of canine cerebral arteries, the dose-response curve of serotonin was not influenced by 10(-7) M phentolamine but was slightly moved to the right and downward at 10(-6) M. The contractile response to serotonin was unaffected by cocaine (3 X 10(-6)M), atropine (10(-6) M) and propranolol (10(-6) M). The addition of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ergotamine and methysergide caused a dose-dependent contraction. Treatment with LSD (10(-9) and 10(-8) M), ergotamine (10(-10) to 10(-8) M) and methysergide (10(-8) to 10(-6) M) shifted the dose-response curve of serotonin to the right and downward in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect of methysergide was reversed by washing, while that of ergotamine was not reversed. Apparent pA2 values of LSD, ergotamine and methysergide were 9.17, 9.63 and 7.92, respectively. Contractile responses to 20 mM K+ were not significantly influenced by these blocking agents even in the highest concentrations used. It may be concluded that an alpha-adrenergic mechanism is not involved in the genesis of serotonin-induced contractions and that serotonin acts directly on serotonergic receptors in canine cerebral arteries.