Functional analysis of a cotton glucuronosyltransferase promoter in transgenic tobaccos

The 5＇ fragment （1 647 bp） of the cotton glucuronosyltransferase gene （GhGlcAT1） was transcriptionally fused to the β-glucuronidase （GUS） gene, and functionally analyzed for important regulatory regions controlling gene expression in transgenic tobacco plants. GUS activity analysis revealed that the full-length promoter drives efficient expression of the GUS gene in the root cap, seed coat, pollen grains and trichomes. Exposure of the transgenic tobacco to various abiotic stresses showed that the promoter was mainly responsive to the sugars （glucose and sucrose） as well as gibberellic acid. Progressive upstream deletion analyses of the promoter showed that the region from -281 to ＋30 bp is sufficient to drive strong GUS expression in the trichomes of shoot, suggesting that the 311 bp region contains all cis-elements needed for trichome-specific expression. Furthermore, deletion analysis also revealed that the essential cis-element（s） for sucrose induction might be located between -635 and -281 bp. In addition, sequence analysis of the regulatory region indicated several conserved motifs among which some were shared with previously reported seed-specific elements and sugarresponsive elements, while others were related with trichome expression. These findings indicate that a 1 647-bp fragment of the cotton GhGIcAT1 promoter contains specific transcription regulatory elements, and provide clues about the roles of GhGIcAT 1 in cotton fiber development. Further analyses of these elements will help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms regulating the expression of the GhGlcAT1 gene during fiber elongation.

Fight fire with fire?Promoting physical activity and health through active video games

Physical inactivity has been identified as one of the leading causes of many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease,type 2 diabetes,and obesity.Technology such as video games plays a complicated role in physical inactivity—much like a double-edged sword.Traditionally,video games have contributed to the epidemic of physical inactivity and have

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator promotes synaptic repair in the ischemic brain

The central nervous system has a very high energy requirement. Accord- ingly, despite representing only 2% of the body＇s mass, the brain uses 20% of the total oxygen consumption. Importantly, because most of this energy is used to maintain synaptic activity, even a mild decrease in its supply to the brain has deleterious implications for synaptic function.

Understanding Chinese international college and university students' physical activity behavior

Objective： To examine factors of the youth physical activity promotion （YPAP） model that are associated with Chinese international students＇ meeting PA recommendations （MPAR）. Methods： A total of 649 （females = 320, males = 329） Chinese international college students participated in the study. This study was conducted in the United States （US.） between June and August in 2011. Participants completed an online survey regarding their demographic, PA, predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors. Results： Logistic nested-regression analysis suggested that being male, having a higher body mass index, perceived competence, self-efficacy, attitude, and enjoyment all increased （p 〈 0.001） the participants＇ odds of MPAR. Except language barriers, all of the enabling and reinforcing factors predicted MPAR indirectly through the predisposing factors （p 〈 0.001）. Conclusion： Understanding factors that influence PA among Chinese international students is an important step in the process of promoting their long-term health and wellbeing. Designing program that address the identified key factors may help colleges and universities achieve this goal.

Water Soluble Propolis and Royal Jelly Enhance the Antimicrobial Activity of Honeys and Promote the Growth of Human Macrophage Cell Line

Due to the overuse and misuse of antibiotic, an increase in antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria is evolving. Attention should be focused on natural alternatives to antibiotics, like propolis, royal jelly （R J） and honeys. They all have strong antibacterial properties due to the active substances they contain. This study investigated the effect of combination of water soluble propolis （WSP） Greitl20 or fresh royal jelly （F-RJ） （MiZigoj） and Forest honeys as antibacterial against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Acinetobacter baumanii, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus （MRSA）, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae and Candida albicans. These substances are also cell growth promoters for human macrophage （TLT） cell line. WSP Greitl20, F-RJ （M） and different Forest honeys were prepared in saline as 10% solutions. The antimicrobial activity was expressed as the minimal inhibitory concentration （MIC） in mg/mL. The growth promotion activity was measured at optical density （OD） 595 nm. The combination ofWSP Greitl20 with different Forest honeys is better than F-RJ （M） in same combination with different Forest honeys. The best antibacterial/antifungal activity was found with the combination of 10% WSP Greit 120 in the Forest honey （1：10） from Italy or Spain. When measuring the growth promoting activity of TLT cell line, the best activity was detected at the combination of 10% WSP Greitl20 in the Forest honey from Italy （GI3 = 0.796 ± 0.014 and GI5 = 1.133± 0.022）. Antimicrobial and growth promoting activities are correlated and WSP-dependent.

Axonal remodeling in the corticospinal tract after stroke： how does rehabilitative training modulate it？

Stroke causes long-term disability, and rehabilitative training is commonly used to improve the consecutive functional recovery. Following brain damage, surviving neurons undergo morphological alterations to reconstruct the remaining neural network. In the motor system, such neural network remodeling is observed as a motor map reorganization. Because of its significant correlation with functional recovery, motor map reorganization has been regarded as a key phenomenon for functional recovery after stroke. Although the mechanism underlying motor map reorganization remains unclear, increasing evidence has shown a critical role for axonal remodeling in the corticospinal tract. In this study, we review previous studies investigating axonal remodeling in the corticospinal tract after stroke and discuss which mechanisms may underlie the stimulatory effect of rehabilitative training. Axonal remodeling in the corticospinal tract can be classified into three types based on the location and the original targets of corticospinal neurons, and it seems that all the surviving corticospinal neurons in both ipsilesional and contralesional hemisphere can participate in axonal remodeling and motor map reorganization. Through axonal remodeling, corticospinal neurons alter their output selectivity from a single to multiple areas to compensate for the lost function. The remodeling of the corticospinal axon is influenced by the extent of tissue destruction and promoted by various therapeutic interventions, including rehabilitative training. Although the precise molecular mechanism underlying rehabilitation-promoted axonal remodeling remains elusive, previous data suggest that rehabilitative training promotes axonal remodeling by upregulating growth-promoting and downregulating growth-inhibiting signals.

Pharmarcogenetic Mechanism of ACE liD Polymorphism Adversely Responding to ACE Inhibitors in Regulating the ACE Promoter Activity in Neurons

The ACE （angiotensin converting enzyme） inhibitors are not only drugs widely prescribed drugs in cardiovascular diseases, but also potentially therapeutic agents in dementia. Based on the findings that the ACE inhibitors could activate the c-Jun N-terminal kinase signal to increase the ACE gene expression and that the Alu element of the human ACE gene involved in regulating ACE promoter activity, we aimed to investigate whether there are different pharmacogenetic responses of ACE I/D polymorphism to the ACE inhibitors in neurons. The three reporter vectors, pACEpro（0-SEAP, p-I-ACEpro-SEAP, and p-D-ACEpro-SEAP were used to examine the transcriptional activity of the vectors responding to the lisinopril treatment using a transient-transfection method in SH-SY5Y cells. Our results showed that lisinopril increased the promoter activity of an ACE gene by 16.7%. Additionally, we found the lisinopril enhanced the ACE promoter activity of the I-form vector by 17.2%, but adversely reduced that of the D-form vector by 16.8%, as compared with the respective control without the lisinopril treatment. Firstly, our findings had proved that the UD polymorphism of ACE gene contrarily responds to the ACE inhibitors in regulating the ACE expression in neurons, which provide a novel insight suggesting genetic testing to tailor the treatment regimens in AD （Alzheimer＇s disease） patients.

The immunity-promoting activity of porcine placenta in mice as an immunomodulator for functional foods

This study was to explore the immunity-promoting activity of porcine placenta as a potential raw material for functional foods.Porcine placenta was subjected to the analysis for its bioactive substances,and their immunity-promoting activity was determined in mice supplemented with porcine placenta extract(PPE)and freeze-dried porcine placenta powder at high(PPH)and low(PPL)dosage.Results showed that porcine placenta contained placental peptides and 15 free amino acids,and the amounts of estrogen and progesterone in products developed from porcine placenta were within the limit of national standard.Mice model experiment revealed that compared with the control,the PPH treatment significantly improved the spleen index(P<0.05)by increasing the phagocytic rate of macrophages from 20%to 60%and the conversion rate of T lymphocytes from 8%to 60%.The q PCR analysis disclosed that the porcine placenta powder enhanced mice immunity via promoting the expression of Th1 cytokines of interleukin-2(IL-2)and IFN-γ,especially the former,by almost 8 times in the spleens of male mice,while inhibited Th2 cytokines of IL-4 and IL-10.This investigation has provided a reference for the development of porcine placenta as a raw material applied in functional foods to improve human immunity.

Cell Type Specific Expression of CD80 （B7-1） Gene in Murine

The CD80 （B7-1） costimulatory molecule is expressed on the surface of B cells and its expression is transcriptionally upregulated upon stimuli. To identify the region of murine CD80 promoter that direct cell type specific gene expression, four promoters construct of CD80 gene were generated with DNA fragments fused to the GFP reporter gene. In the present study, significant promoter activity was detected with all four promoter constructs only in the murine B lymphocyte. Further, the CD80 promoter region extending from -3,005 bp to ＋273 bp in relation to the previously reported transcription start site, was identified as tissue specific region. Interestingly, the shortest 700 bp （-427/＋273） of promoter fragment was sufficient to direct the CD80 gene expression. The level of CD80 expression was also found to be modulated by exogenous stimuli in B lymphocyte. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the CD80 gene expression is regulated at the level of transcription where the inducible CD80 gene transcript was detected in B lymphocyte with increasing time.

Cloning, expression profiling and promoter functional analysis of bone morphogenetic protein 2 in the tongue sole(Cynoglossus semilaevis)

BMP2 plays crucial roles in vertebrate developmental process and acts as a bone inducer during osteogenesis. We present here the molecular cloning of bmp2 cDNA from the marine flatfish Cynoglossus semilaevis, and the analysis of bmp2 expression profiling and promoter function. The full length of bmp2 cDNA sequence is 2 048 bp,which encodes a protein of 422 amino acids. Tissue expression distribution of bmp2 was examined in 14 tissues of mature individuals by quantitative real time PCR（qRT-PCR）. The results revealed that bmp2 was expressed ubiquitously, and the highest expression level was detected in the spinal cord. Moreover, bmp2 expression levels were detected at 15 sampling time points of early developmental stages（egg, larva, juvenile and fingerling stages）.The highest expression level of bmp2 was observed at the gastrula stage, which was about ten times higher than those at the other three embryo stages. Whole-mount in situ hybridization showed that the bmp2 signal was strongly detected at the location of the crown-like larval fin, heart and liver, and slightly expressed in the notochord at one day post hatch（dph）; then the expression of bmp2 started to be concentrated in notochord at three dph. Subsequently, we characterized the 5′-flanking region of bmp2 by testing the promoter activity by Luciferase reporter assays. Positive regulatory region was detected at the location of –179 to ＋109. The predicted transcription factor binding sites（E-box binding factors, zinc finger transcription factor, etc.） in this region might participate in the transcriptional regulation of the bmp2 gene.

CREG knockdown promotes NIH3T3 Fibroblasts Apoptosis via activating Cathepsin

Background The CREG is an important lysosomal protein involved in a variety of cellular functions including promoting cell differentiation,sustaining mature homeostasis, and antagonizing apoptosis.Deficiency of CREG in cell and tissue results in a pathologic apoptosis.The present study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of CREG regulation apoptosis.Methods We firstly generated stable NIH3T3 fibroblasts by transfection of pDS_shCREGs vectors.Furthermore, PI-Annexin V and TUNEL staining were used to identify that CREG knockdown promoted the cell apoptosis in NIH3T3 fibroblasts.Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining was used to identify the expression and localization of M6P/ IGF2R and cathepsin L in cytoplasm.Results pDS_shCREGs vector transfection produced an approximately 80%decrease in CREG levels both in the lysate and in the media.The expression and localization of M6P/IGF2R and cathepsin L in cytoplasma changed obviously associated with down-regulated of CREG.In addition,the retention and secretion of cathepsin L enhanced significantly.Using the specific inhibitor or siRNA to block cathepsin L activation attenuated the apoptosis mediated by CREG downregulation.Conclusions Our findings indicated that inhibition of CREG expression in NIH3T3 fibroblasts leads to impaired cathepsin L sorting function mediated by M6P/IGF2R and subsequently promotes pathological cell apoptosis.

Actively Promoting Regional Space Cooperation——Vice Administrator, Loan Enjie headed a delegation to attend the Second Asia-Pacific Conference on Multilateral Cooperation in Space Technology and Applications

A Chinese delegation of 24 persons headed by Mr. Luan Enjie, Vice Administrator of China National Space Administration (CNSA) attended the Second Asia-Pacific Conference on Multilateral Cooperation in Space Technology and Applications held at Islamabad, the Capital of Pakistan from April 22 to 26, 1995. Following the First AsiaPacific Workshop held in Beijing in December, 1992, and the First Asia-Pacific Conference on Multilateral Cooperation in

To Actively Perform the Judicial Administration Function and Promote the Development of Cause of Human Rights

Respect for human rights and protection of human rights are significant rules in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China.In 2015,judicial administration departments at all levels legally exercised their duties,implemented the principles and rules in constitution,and kept strengthening propagation of human rights through creation of contents and methods which had acquired great effects.What they have done contributes significantly toward the development of human rights in China.

The best of Jiangxi to make the world drunk Highlights of the Jiangxi Global Promotion activities

Green represents vitality;blue symbolizes opening.Magnificence blooms when'Jiangxi green'encounters'diplomacy blue'.In Sept 8,the Global Promotion of Jiangxi was held in the Blue Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.This was the 10th Global Promotion for provinces held by the ministry.Ten represents perfection in Chinese culture.It is everybody’s expectation.

Acid promoted Ni/NiO monolithic electrode for overall water splitting in alkaline medium

Exploring and designing bi-functional catalysts with earth-abundant elements that can work well for both hydrogen evolution reaction（HER） and oxygen evolution reaction（OER） in alkaline medium are of significance for producing clean fuel to relieve energy and environment crisis.Here,a novel Ni/NiO monolithic electrode was developed by a facile and cost-effective acid promoted activation of Ni foam.After the treatment,this obtained monolithic electrode with a layer of NiO on its surface demonstrates rough and sheet-like morphology,which not only possesses larger accessible surface area but also provides more reactive active sites. Compared with powder catalysts,this monolithic electrode can achieve intimate contact between the electrocatalyst and the current collector,which will alleviate the problem of pulverization and enable the stable function of the electrode. It can be served as an efficient bi-functional electrocatalyst with an overpotential of 160 mV for HER and 290 mV for OER to produce current densities of 10 mA cm^（-2） in the alkaline medium. And it maintains benign stability after 5,000 cycles,which rivals many recent reported noble-metal free catalysts in 1.0mol L^（-1） KOH solution. Attributed to the easy,scalable methodology and high catalytic efficiency,this work not only offers a promising monolithic catalyst but also inspires us to exploit other inexpensive,highly efficient and self-standing noble metalfree electrocatalysts for scale-up electrochemical water-splitting technology.

Study on the molecular basis of glucoamylase overproduction of a mutant strain Aspergillus niger T21

The molecular basis for increasing of the glucoamylase (GLA) production of an Aspergillus niger mutant T21 was investigated . Northern blot analysis showed that the amount of glaA specific mRNA of A . niger T21 was about 20 times higher than that of its start strain A . niger AS 3.795. The two glaA promoter fusions (PglaA)-uidAs were respectively introduced into A . niger. Analysis of GUS activity of the transformants revealed that the PglaA activity of the strain T21 is about 3 times stronger than that of the strain AS 3.795. It is considered to be one of the reasons for the increase of glaA transcriptional level in the strain T21. However, comparing with the 20 times increase in the amount of glaA mRNA the alteration of trans regulation should be the most important reason for that. The results of deletion analysis of 5′-cis region of A . niger T21 glaA gene indicated that the region from - 408 to - 513 bp upstream of ATG is responsible for the high level expression of glaA.

Review on the corrosion-promotion activity of graphene and its inhibition

Graphene films(GFs) and graphene-reinforced nanocomposite coatings(GNCs) have received unprecedented attention for corrosion protection because graphene possesses a remarkable chemical inertness and is completely impermeable to aggressive chemicals. However, the high electric conductivity and positive potential of graphene make graphene-based metal protectors tend to exhibit an undesirable high corrosion-promotion activity(CPA), which is widely known as the phenomenon that graphene connecting with metal accelerates the corrosion of metal substrate by inducing micro-galvanic corrosion at the defect sites of GFs or GNCs in aggressive environments. Therefore, inhibiting the CPA of graphene is currently a key focus for the application of graphene in the field of corrosion protection. In this review, the mechanisms, influencing factors, and inhibition strategies of the CPA of GFs and GNCs are highlighted from the point of view of corrosion science to address the bottlenecks and challenges for future research and potential applications of graphene for corrosion protection.

A novel post-transcriptional splicing form of the acute T cell leukemia proto-oncogene Lmo2

Lmo2 is a T cell leukemia-related proto-oncogene, which belongs to the LIM protein family. Previous work has established its key role in yolk sac erythropoiesis and adult hematopoiesis, and it is also necessary for regulating angiogenesis. It has been demonstrated that this gene encodes a protein of 158 amino acids, consisting of two tandem cysteine-rich LIM domains, but the detailed mechanism of its transcriptional regulation remains to be elucidated. To further investigate the mechanism of transcriptional regulation of Lmo2, we combined SMART PCR technology with 5′RACE and found a novel post-transcriptional splicing form of Lmo2 in adult human kidney. This alternative transcript contains only two exons, encoding a smaller protein of 151 amino acids. Interestingly, it shares the same reading frame as the original Lmo2, but differs in 7 amino acids at the N-terminus. A genomic DNA fragment (from ?294 nts to +180 nts) containing the putative promoter region has been inserted into the luciferase reporter gene vector pGL3-basic and showed stable promoter activity when transfected into COS7. RT-PCR analysis revealed that this variant transcript was expressed widely in human tissues and cell lines, suggesting its potential basic functional importance.

Construction, characterization and application of a genomewide promoter library in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Promoters are critical elements to control gene expression but could behave differently under various growth conditions. Here we report the construction of a genome-wide promoter library, in which each native promoter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned upstream of a yellow fluorescent protein （YFP） reporter gene. Nine libraries were arbitrarily defined and assembled in bacteria. The resulting pools of promoters could be prepared and transformed into a yeast strain either as centromeric plasmids or integrated into a genomic locus upon enzymatic treatment. Using fluorescence activated cell sorting, we classified the yeast strains based on YFP fluorescence intensity and arbitrarily divided the entire library into 12 bins, representing weak to strong promoters. Several strong promoters were identified from the most active bins and their activities were assayed under different growth conditions. Finally, these promoters were applied to drive the expression of genes in xylose utilization to improve fermentation efficiency. Together, this library could provide a quick solution to identify and utilize desired promoters under user-defined growth conditions.

ARR12 promotes de novo shoot regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana via activation of WUSCHE Lexpression

Auxin and cytokinin direct cell proliferation and differentiation during the in vitro culture of plant cells, but the molecular basis of these processes, especially de novo shoot regeneration, has not been fully elucidated. Here, we describe the regulatory control of shoot regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana(L.) Heynh, based on the interaction of ARABIDOPSIS RESPONSE REGULATOR12(ARR12) and WUSCHEL(WUS). The major site of ARR12 expression coincided with the location where the shoot apical meristem(SAM) initiated. The oar12 mutants showed severely impaired shoot regeneration and reduced responsiveness to cytokinin; consistent with this, the overexpression of ARR12 enhanced shoot regeneration.Certain shoot meristem specification genes, notably WUSCHEL(WUS) and CLAVATA3, were significantly downregulated in the arr1z explants. Chromatin immunoprecipitation(ChIP) and transient activation assays demonstrated that ARR12 binds to the promoter of WUS. These observations indicate that during shoot regeneration, in vitro, ARR12 functions as a molecular link between cytokinin signaling and the expression of shoot meristem specification genes.