Aim To assess simultaneously various risk states of a system. Methods\ Using the catastrophe and fuzzy theory, the energy and uncertainty in a system are set as two control variables and the function of the system is...Aim To assess simultaneously various risk states of a system. Methods\ Using the catastrophe and fuzzy theory, the energy and uncertainty in a system are set as two control variables and the function of the system is used as the state variable for analysis. Results and Conclusion\ A risk analysis model named the cusp model is presented. Various states regarding the safety of the system such as the accident state, no accident state and miss state can be represented at will on the cusp model.展开更多
Influenza virus can rapidly change its antigenicity, via mutation in the hemagglutinin(HA) protein, to evade host immunity. The emergence of the novel human-infecting avian H7N9 virus in China has caused widespread co...Influenza virus can rapidly change its antigenicity, via mutation in the hemagglutinin(HA) protein, to evade host immunity. The emergence of the novel human-infecting avian H7N9 virus in China has caused widespread concern. However, evolution of the antigenicity of this virus is not well understood. Here, we inferred the antigenic epitopes of the HA protein from all H7 viruses, based on the five well-characterized HA epitopes of the human H3N2 virus. By comparing the two major H7 phylogenetic lineages, i.e., the Eurasian lineage and the North American lineage, we found that epitopes A and B are more frequently mutated in the Eurasian lineage, while epitopes B and C are more frequently mutated in the North American lineage. Furthermore, we found that the novel H7N9 virus(derived from the Eurasian lineage) isolated in China in the year 2013, contains six frequently mutated sites on epitopes that include site 135, which is located in the receptor binding domain. This indicates that the novel H7N9 virus that infects human may already have been subjected to gradual immune pressure and receptor-binding variation. Our results not only provide insights into the antigenic evolution of the H7 virus but may also help in the selection of suitable vaccine strains.展开更多
Autism spectrum disorders （ASD） are highly heterogeneous pediatric developmental disorders with estimated heritability more than 70%. Although the genetic factors in ASD are mainly unknown, a large number of gene mu...Autism spectrum disorders （ASD） are highly heterogeneous pediatric developmental disorders with estimated heritability more than 70%. Although the genetic factors in ASD are mainly unknown, a large number of gene mutations have been found, especially in genes involved in neurogenesis. The Neurexin-Neuroligin-Shank （NRXN-NLGN-SHANK） pathway plays a key role in the formation, maturation and maintenance of synapses, consistent with the hypothesis of neurodevelopmental abnormality in ASD. Presynaptic NRXNs interact with postsynaptic NLGNs in excitatory glutamatergic synapses. SHANK proteins function as core components of the postsynaptic density （PSD） by interacting with multiple proteins. Recently, deletions and point mutations of the SHANK1 gene have been detected in ASD individuals, indicating the involvement of SHANK1 in ASD. This review focuses on the function of SHANK1 protein, Shankl mouse models, and the molecular genetics of the SHANK1 gene in human ASD.展开更多
文摘Aim To assess simultaneously various risk states of a system. Methods\ Using the catastrophe and fuzzy theory, the energy and uncertainty in a system are set as two control variables and the function of the system is used as the state variable for analysis. Results and Conclusion\ A risk analysis model named the cusp model is presented. Various states regarding the safety of the system such as the accident state, no accident state and miss state can be represented at will on the cusp model.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2015CB910501)the Major National Earmark Project for Infectious Diseases(2014ZX10004002-001)+1 种基金the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(KJZD-EW-L09-1-2)to Jiang Tai Jiaothe National Natural Science Foundation of China(31470273)to Wu Ai Ping
文摘Influenza virus can rapidly change its antigenicity, via mutation in the hemagglutinin(HA) protein, to evade host immunity. The emergence of the novel human-infecting avian H7N9 virus in China has caused widespread concern. However, evolution of the antigenicity of this virus is not well understood. Here, we inferred the antigenic epitopes of the HA protein from all H7 viruses, based on the five well-characterized HA epitopes of the human H3N2 virus. By comparing the two major H7 phylogenetic lineages, i.e., the Eurasian lineage and the North American lineage, we found that epitopes A and B are more frequently mutated in the Eurasian lineage, while epitopes B and C are more frequently mutated in the North American lineage. Furthermore, we found that the novel H7N9 virus(derived from the Eurasian lineage) isolated in China in the year 2013, contains six frequently mutated sites on epitopes that include site 135, which is located in the receptor binding domain. This indicates that the novel H7N9 virus that infects human may already have been subjected to gradual immune pressure and receptor-binding variation. Our results not only provide insights into the antigenic evolution of the H7 virus but may also help in the selection of suitable vaccine strains.
基金supported by grants from National Basic Research Program of China(2010CB529601)Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai Municipality(13ZR1402100)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(30900404)
文摘Autism spectrum disorders （ASD） are highly heterogeneous pediatric developmental disorders with estimated heritability more than 70%. Although the genetic factors in ASD are mainly unknown, a large number of gene mutations have been found, especially in genes involved in neurogenesis. The Neurexin-Neuroligin-Shank （NRXN-NLGN-SHANK） pathway plays a key role in the formation, maturation and maintenance of synapses, consistent with the hypothesis of neurodevelopmental abnormality in ASD. Presynaptic NRXNs interact with postsynaptic NLGNs in excitatory glutamatergic synapses. SHANK proteins function as core components of the postsynaptic density （PSD） by interacting with multiple proteins. Recently, deletions and point mutations of the SHANK1 gene have been detected in ASD individuals, indicating the involvement of SHANK1 in ASD. This review focuses on the function of SHANK1 protein, Shankl mouse models, and the molecular genetics of the SHANK1 gene in human ASD.
