Octenyl Succinic Anhydride-Modified Starch Attenuates Body Weight Gain and Changes Intestinal Environment of High-Fat Diet-Fed Mice.

Effects of octenylsuccinate (OS) starch on body composition and intestinal environment in high-fat diet-fed mice were investigated. C57BL/6J mice were treated with a regular-fat (RF) diet, a high-fat (HF) diet, or a high-fat diet supplemented with OS starch (HFOSS). Fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were quantified using gas chromatography, and the fecal microbiota profile was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. One-way ANOVA and metastats analysis were performed for statistical analysis. After 22 weeks of feeding, mice in the HFOSS group had significantly lower body weight, body fat, liver weight, and cumulative food intake than those in the HF group but higher than that of the RF group. Fecal total SCFA, acetic, propionic, and butyric acid concentrations were significantly higher in the HFOSS group than that in the HF and RF groups. OS starch intervention increased the relative abundance of Parabacteroides, Alistipes, and Ruminiclostridium_5 and decreased that of Tyzzerella, Oscillibacter, Desulfovibrio, and Anaerotruncus compared with the RF and HF groups. The relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae_UCG-006 in the HFOSS group was lower than that in the HF group but higher than that in the RF group. In conclusion, OS starch prevents fat accumulation in high-fat diet-fed mice and might provide potential health benefits due to its fermentability in the gut and its ability to regulate gut microbial community structure.

Aberrant Volume-Wise and Voxel-Wise Concordance Among Dynamic Intrinsic Brain Activity Indices in Parkinson's Disease: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

Researches using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) have applied different regional measurements to study the intrinsic brain activity (IBA) of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Most previous studies have only examined the static characteristics of IBA in patients with PD, neglecting the dynamic features. We sought to explore the concordance between the dynamics of different rs-fMRI regional indices. This study included 31 healthy controls (HCs) and 57 PD patients to calculate the volume-wise (across voxels) and voxel-wise (across periods) concordance using a sliding time window approach. This allowed us to compare the concordance of dynamic alterations in frequently used metrics such as degree centrality (DC), global signal connectivity (GSC), voxel-mirrored heterotopic connectivity (VMHC), the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), and regional homogeneity (ReHo). We analyzed the changes of concordance indices in the PD patients and investigated the relationship between aberrant concordance values and clinical/neuropsychological assessments in the PD patients. We found that, compared with the HCs, the PD patients had lower volume concordance in the whole brain and lower voxel-wise concordance in the posterior cerebellar lobe, cerebellar tonsils, superior temporal gyrus, and supplementary motor region. We also found negative correlations between these concordance alterations and patients' age. The exploratory results contribute to a better understanding of IBA alterations and pathophysiological mechanisms in PD.

Detection of rare thalassemia mutations using long-read single-molecule real-time sequencing.

Gap- polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse dot-blot assay (RDB), real-time PCR based multicolor melting curve analysis (MMCA assay), multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and Sanger sequencing are conventional methods to diagnose thalassemia but all of them have limitations. In this study, we applied single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing following multiplex long-range PCR to uncover rare mutations in nine patients and their family members. The patients with different results between Gap-PCR and MMCA assay or with phenotype not matching genotype were included. Using SMRT sequencing, we first identified the carriers with αααanti3.7/HKαα, -α762bpα/αα (chr16:172,648-173,409), ααfusion/αQSα (in a trans configuration), two cases with novel gene rearrangements and another case with a novel 341 bp insertion in α-globin gene cluster, respectively. One carrier with --SEA/αααanti4.2, and two carriers with the coexistence of globin variant and an α-globin gene duplication were also found. Most importantly, we could determine two defects in α-globin gene cluster being a cis or trans configuration in a single test. Our results showed that SMRT has great advantages in detection of α-globin gene triplications, rare deletions and determination of a cis or trans configuration. SMRT is a comprehensive and one-step method for thalassemia screening and diagnosis, especially for detection of rare thalassemia mutations.

[Experimental study of a new animal model with trigeminal neuralgia produced by administration of talc to peripheral infraobital nerve in rats].

PURPOSE: To establish a new animal model of trigeminal neuralgia（TN） produced by administration of talc to peripheral infraobital nerve in rats. METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 2 groups. Talcum powder (30％,0.3 mL) was injected into the peripheral infraorbital foramen in one group, the same dose of normal saline was injected by the same method in another group. On 3 day before surgery and 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 and 12 weeks postoperatively, mechanical pain behavior was determined. Statistical analysis of the threshold of pain response was performed and the behavior of pain was observed in the area of infraorbital nerve innervation in rats. Histopathological changes of the peripheral infraorbital nerve tissue in the rats were observed 3 days, 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks postoperatively. The expression of inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin -1ß (IL-1ß) in the territory of the infraorbital nerve was detected by immunohistochemistry. SPSS16.0 software package was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mechanical pain threshold of rats in the infraorbital innervation area 3 days postoperatively in the experimental group was significantly decreased compared with that in the preoperative group and the control group (P<0.01). The rats in the experimental group 3 days postoperatively experienced symptoms of irritability, scratching the face or aggressive behavior. Twelve weeks after operation, the mechanical pain threshold was still significantly decreased. Histopathological examination in the experimental group 3 days postoperatively mainly showed inflammation with a few inflammatory factors（IL-1ß and TNF-α）expression. Inflammation in the experimental group 1week postoperatively was more intense and more inflammatory factors were expressed. Four weeks postoperatively, there was more proliferation of granulation tissue in the area of peripheral infraorbital nerve tissue and expression of inflammatory factors was highest. Four to twelve weeks, the inflammatory response in the experimental group was gradually reduced, increased scar and infraorbital nerve compressing by scar were observed, and the expression of inflammatory factors decreased gradually. CONCLUSIONS: Injection of talc to the peripheral infraorbital foramen can establish a reliable and stable animal model for research of etiology and treatment of TN.

[Effects of supplementary light with different wavelengths on fruit quality of 'Ruidu Xiangyu' grape under promoted cultivation]. / ä¸åŒå ‰è´¨è¡¥å ‰å¯¹ä¿ƒæ—©æ ½åŸ¹'瑞都香玉'葡萄果实品质的影响.

To study the effects of supplemental lighting with ultraviolet (UV), blue and red-blue lights on quality development of grape berries under protected cultivation to promote early maturing, four-year-old vines of 'Ruidu Xiangyu' grape using 'Beta' as rootstock were used in this experiment. The results indicated that blue and ultraviolet lights were poor in greenhouse environment. Compared with the control, blue and ultraviolet lights lasting 6 hours at night significantly accele-rated the increase of berry mass, fruit diameter, sugar content and the decrease of acidity content during the grape development, but the effect of red-blue light was not obvious. At the fruit maturation, berries supplemented with the three types of light were heavier, and those treated with the UV light were the heaviest. Additionally, grape berries supplemented with blue light had the highest glucose, fructose and total sugar contents, while the sugar contents in berries supplemented with UV light was lower than that under blue light and higher than that under the red-blue light. Volatile linalool, geraniol, terpineol and nerol reached their peak contents ear-liest in berries supplemented with blue light during the developmental stage. At fruit maturation, berries supplemented with blue light had the highest linalool and citronellol contents, while those with UV light had the highest geraniol, hexanal and E-2-hexenal contents, and supplemented with red-blue light had lower linalool content than the control. Moreover, supplementary light was also beneficial for the accumulation of volatile aldehydes and ketones. In conclusion, blue supplementary light could accelerate the development of grape berries as their sugar content was highest and main terpenes reached their peak contents earliest.Grape berries supplemented with UV light had the largest single berry mass and most abundant volatile compounds, while red-blue light treatment was not so effective on quality improvement.

[Effects of light quality on leaf senescence and endogenous hormones content in grapevine under protected cultivation]. / å ‰è´¨å¯¹è®¾æ–½è‘¡è„å¶ç‰‡è¡°è€ä¸Žå† æºæ¿€ç´ å«é‡çš„å½±å“.

Two grape varieties 'Italia' and 'Centenial seedless' cultured in protected and delayed cultivation were used as experimental materials to study the effects of red and blue light quality on chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, and endogenous hormone content during leaf senescence. The results showed that the chlorophyll content and net photosynthetic rate of the grapes were significantly enhanced in the red light treatment. Although the content of endogenous GA3 was decreased, an increase in abscisic acid (ABA) content and a decrease of total content of zeaxanthin (ZR) were obviously slowed, which led to the significant increase in value of (GA3+ZR)/ABA, delaying leaf senescence. In prophase of leaf senescence, the chlorophyll contents, net photosynthetic rate and (GA3+ZR)/ABA of the grapes were lower in the blue light treatment than those in the control, and the leaf senescence in the blue light treatment was accelerated. At late stage of leaf senescence, the chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate and (GA3+ZR)/ABA in the blue light treatment were gradually higher than those in the control, and the leaf senescence was delayed to a certain extent. The plant endogenous hormone auxin (IAA) promoted leaf growth and development in prophase of leaf senescence and accelerated leaf aging in late stage of leaf senescence. The leaf senescence rate of 'Italia' was slower than that of 'Centenial seedless'. In conclusion, our experiment suggested that red light was the best on delaying leaf senescence and prolonging the functional period of leaves.

[Effects of different rootstocks on the weak light tolerance ability of summer black grape based on 4 photo-response models]. / 基于4ç§å ‰å“åº”æ¨¡åž‹æ¨¡æ‹Ÿä¸åŒç §æœ¨å¯¹å¤é»‘è‘¡è„è€å¼±å ‰èƒ½åŠ›çš„å½±å“.

The photo response curves of 11 rootstock-scion combinations including summer black/Beta, summer black/1103P, summer black/101-14, summer black/3309C, summer black/140Ru, summer black/5C, summer black/5BB, summer black/420A, summer black/SO4, summer black/Kangzhen No.1, summer black/Huapu No.1 were fitted by rectangular hyperbola mo-del, non-rectangular hyperbola model, modified rectangular hyperbola model and exponential model respectively, and the differences of imitative effects were analyzed by determination coefficiency, light compensation point, light saturation point, initial quantum efficiency, maximum photosynthetic rate and dark respiration rate. The result showed that the fit coefficients of all four models were above 0.98, and there was no obvious difference on the fitted values of light compensation point among the four models. The modified rectangular hyperbola model fitted best on light saturation point, apparent quantum yield, maximum photosynthetic rate and dark respiration rate, and had the minimum AIC value based on the akaike information criterion, therefore, the modified rectangular hyperbola model was the best one. The clustering analysis indicated that summer black/SO4 and summer black/420A combinations had low light compensation point, high apparent quantum yield and low dark respiration rate among 11 rootstock-scion combinations, suggesting that these two combinations could use weak light more efficiently due to their less respiratory consumption and higher weak light tolerance. The Topsis comparison method ranked summer black/SO4 and summer black/420A combinations as No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in weak light tolerance ability, which was consistent with cluster analysis. Consequently, summer black has the highest weak light tolerance in case grafted on 420A or SO4, which could be the most suitable rootstock-scion combinations for protected cultivation.

[Effects of different color paper bags on volatile constituents of Kyoho grape berries]. / 不同颜色果袋对'巨峰'葡萄果实中挥发性成分的影响.

Taking'Kyoho' as the test material, the effect of white, green, red and blue bags on volatile compounds in mature grape berries was explored in this study. The results indicated that bags with different colors could create special light conditions, which resulted in the difference of volatile compounds in grape berries. A total of 37, 38, 32, 34 kinds of volatile compounds which included esters, aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, terpenes and aromatic compounds, were detected in 'Kyoho' berries covered with the white, green, red and blue bags respectively, and 33 in the control. Compared with the control, the contents of ethyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate and some other esters decreased, while hexanal, E-2-hexenal and decanal increased in berries with white bags, the contents of the major common compounds, except ethyl 3-hexenoate, ethyl (E)-hex-2-enoate, ethyl 3-hydroxybutyrate, E-2-hexenal, (E,E)-2,4-hexadienal, decanal, and phenethyl alcohol, decreased in berries with green bags, the contents of ethyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate and hexanal, E-2-hexenal decreased in berries with red bags, the contents of ethyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate and some other esters changed slightly in berries with blue bags, except for the increase of hexanal and E-2-hexenal. For those characteristic compounds, the kinds of alcohols in berries covered with bags decreased while the kinds of terpenes and aromatic compounds increased. In general, the fruits with the blue bags had the highest volatile esters, and those with the white bags had high volatile esters and aldehydes, while those with the green and red bags had low aromatic compounds.

[Effect of Decitabine on DKK1 Gene Demethylation in Leukemia Cells].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of decitabine on Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) gene expression level and its downstream Wnt signaling pathway in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell line HL-60. METHODS: Flow cytometry and DNA ladder analysis were performed to detect apoptosis in HL-60 cell treated with different concentration of decitabine. Methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR) was used to examine the methylation status of DKK1 gene. The expressions of mRNA and protein were determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: Flow cytometric detection showed that after treating HL-60 cell line with decitabine of different concentrations for 48 h, the early apoptosis of HL-60 cells increased significantly as compared with control group (P < 0.05). DNA ladder analysis showed that the DNA ladder and demethylation of DKK1 gene appeared. RT-PCR and Western blot showed that the expressions of mRNA and protein increased. The protein expressions of ß-catenin and C-MYC decreased. CONCLUSION: The decitabine can promote the apoptosis of HL-60 cells throngh demethylation of DDK1 gene and inhibition of Wnt signalling pathway.

[Research Progress on DKK1 Gene in Leukemia].

A number of studies have demonstrated that the methylation of Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) gene promoter is related with the occurrence and development of many neoplastic diseases. By means of binding with corresponding receptors, DKK1 blocks the transduction pathway of Wnt/ß-catenin/TCF and inhibits the proliferation and invasion of tumor cells, inducing apoptosis. Leukemia is a hyperplastic disease of hematopoietic stem cell malignant clone. Its pathogenesis has been confirmed to be closely related with the aberrant activation of Wnt signaling pathway. This pathway is associated with the self-renewal and proliferation of the hematopoietic stem cells, which can regulate growth, differentiation, migration of the cells, angiogenesis and embryonic development. Its expression is regulated by some suppressor genes like Dickkopf 1 (DKK1). Leukemia often accompanied by methylation modification of the DKK1 gene, so as to leads to silencing itself and activation of the Wnt signaling pathway, which cause the occurrence of leukemia. Some therapeutic methods on leukemia aiming at DKK1 gene have been reported, among which DKK1 gene was demethylated. The intensive study on the expression and function of DKK1 should be important for the early diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. This article reviews the current progress in this field.

[Natural inducing factors of grape bud dormancy and their regulation on respiratory metabolism during dormancy induction].

High chilling requirement grape (Vitis vinifera-V. labrusca cv. Summer Black) was used to evaluate its dormancy under short sunlight day (SD), long sunlight day (LD) and natural condition (CK). The results indicated that grape bud dormancy could be induced by natural low temperature and short sunlight alone or together. Short sunlight was the main contributor to the dormancy of grape bud, followed by natural low temperature. SD had more effect on dormancy induction under the same temperature when compared with LD. The grape dormancy induction stopped when the total respiratory rate reached the highest level. During the dormancy induction period, the proportion of pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) operation activity or capacity to total respiratory rate increased from 16.0% to 20.1% or 22.3% to 26.0%, respectively; similarly, the proportion of operation activity or capacity of alternate pathway to total respiratory rate rapidly increased, i.e., from 19.4% to 27.3% or 38.2% to 46.8%. Both low temperature and short sunlight could induce change of respiratory pathway on electron transport chain level.

[Effects of canopy shapes of grape on canopy microenvironment, leaf and fruit quality in greenhouse].

The effects of three canopy shapes, i.e., vertical canopy, V-shaped canopy and horizontal canopy, on canopy microenvironment, quality of leaves and fruits were studied in the 3-year-old grape 'Jingmi' grafted on ' Beta' in greenhouse. The results showed that gap fraction and openness of vertical canopy were significantly higher than that of V-shaped canopy and horizontal canopy, and leaf area index, light interception rate and canopy temperature difference between day and night were significantly lower than those of V-shaped canopy and horizontal canopy. There was no significant difference between the latter two treatments. The palisade thickness of V-shaped canopy was significantly greater than that of vertical canopy, and horizontal canopy was in the middle. The chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of V-shaped canopy were significantly higher than those of vertical canopy and horizontal canopy, and those in the latter two treatments had no significant difference. The fruit quality of V-shaped canopy was the best, and that of horizontal canopy was the worst. The results of GC-MS analysis showed that 29 types of volatile aroma compounds were detected in V-shaped canopy, but just 17 and 16 in vertical canopy and horizontal canopy, respectively. In V-shaped canopy, the characteristic aroma in grape 'Jingmi' was higher, except ethanol, trans-2- hexene-1-alcohol, 2-octyl ketone and formic acid ester. The linalool content in vertical canopy and V-shaped canopy was higher than that in horizontal canopy. The nerol content in V-shaped canopy was higher than that in vertical canopy and horizontal canopy, and the leaf alcohol content in V-shaped canopy and horizontal canopy was higher than that in vertical canopy. The citronellol was de-tected only in V-shaped canopy. In greenhouse, the fruit aroma of V-shaped canopy grape was stronger, and well reflected the variety characteristics.

4,4'-Bipyridine-2-meth-oxy-benzoic acid (1/2).

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(10)H(8)N(2)·2C(8)H(8)O(3), contains two 2-meth-oxy-benzoic acid mol-ecules and one 4,4'-bipyridine mol-ecule. The 4,4'-bipyridine mol-ecule is disordered over two positions in a 1:1 ratio. In the crystal, the 2-meth-oxy-benzoic acid and 4,4'-bipyridine mol-ecules are connected by inter-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds. The dihedral angle between the carboxy group and its attached ring is 26.823 (2)°.

[Relationships between reactive oxygen metabolism and endodormancy release of peach bud under short-term heating].

Taking the 6-year-old peach "Shuguang" as test object, this paper studied the effects of short-term heating at 40 degrees C, 45 degrees C, and 50 degrees C on the bud livability, bud burst, reactive oxygen content, and activities of related enzymes in peach bud, aimed to investigate the regulation effect of short-term heating on the endodormancy release of peach bud. The results indicated that the effects of short-tern heating on the endodormancy release of peach bud were advanced by the postponement of treatment date, the increase of treatment temperature, and the prolonging of treatment time. On November 30, the regulation effect of heating at 40 degrees C was negative. Comparing with those under no-heating (CK), the date of endodormancy release was postponed, the bud burst, the O2-* and * OH production rates, the H2O2 content, and the activities of CAT and POD were lowered, and the SOD activity was improved. It was adverse under heating at 45 degrees C and 50 degrees C. On December 10, heating at 40 degrees C nearly had no obvious effect on the endodormancy release, while heating at 45 degrees C and 50 degrees C had the same effect as that on November 30, with the former being more superior to the latter. Correlation analysis indicated that the rapid increase of reactive oxygen might be the critical reason for the endodormancy release of peach bud.

[Effect of prolonged infusion of propofol on the liver mitochondria respiratory function in rabbits].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of respiratory function of liver mitochondria in rabbits induced by the general anesthetic propofol. METHODS: Eighteen New Zealand rabbits weighted 1.5-2.5 kg were randomly divided into three groups: control group, emulsion group and propofol group. The control group received continuous infusion of 0.9% sodium chloride solution. The propofol group received continuous infusion of 1% propofol. The emulsion group received continuous infusion of 10% emulsion. The liver mitochondri of the rabbits were isolated. The carnitine acyl transferase (CPT) activity, H+ -ATPase hydrolysis activity and the content of ATP in the mitochondria were analysed. RESULTS: The rabbits in the propofol group had lower activity of CPT than the controls (P < 0.05), while no difference was found between the control group and the emulsion group (P > 0.05). The rabbits in the propofol group had higher H+ -ATPase hydrolysis activity than the controls (P < 0.05), while no difference was found between the control group and the emulsion group (P > 0.05). No significant differences were found in the content of ATP in mitochondria between the three groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Propofol inhibits CPT activity, which disturbs fatty acid beta-oxidation. Emulsion acted as vehicle of propofol seems to have no significant impact on mitochondria respiratory function.

[Effect of etomidate on mitochondrial energy metabolism of rat livers in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the change of energy metabolism in isolated rat liver mitochondria by the general anesthetic etomidate. METHODS: Nine healthy male SD rats weighted 230-280 g were used to isolate liver mitochondria. According to randomized block design, the isolated liver mitochondria wered divided into three groups: control group, 0.4 microg/mL etomidate group, and 4 microg/mL etomidate group. Then the samples were incubated at 37 degrees C for 7 min. The fluorescence intensities of lipophilic cation Rhodamine-123 and forward light scatter (FSC) were analyzed by flow cytometry. The size of the adenine nucleotides (AMP, ADP, ATP) in mitochondria was measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The energy charge (EC) = (ATP + 0.5ADP)/(ATP + ADP + AMP). The inorganic phosphorus method was used to measure the H(+)-ATPase hydrolytic activity and the oligomycin-sensitive H(+)-ATPase activity. The enzyme activity was express as nmol Pi/(mg pro x min). RESULTS: The fluorescence intensities level of Rhodamine-123 in the 0.4 microg/mL etomidate group was higher than in the control group, but still lower than in the 4 microg/mL etomidate group (P<0.05). The size of FSC had no significant change in the 0.4 microg/mL etomidate group, whereas the 4 microg/mL etomidate group had increased size of FSC (P<0.05). Compared to the control group, no significant changes of content of adenine nucleotides, energy charge and hydrolytic activity of H(+)-ATPase were found in the 0.4 microg/mL etomidate group. However, the intra-mitochondrial ADP, ATP and energy charge levels decreased and the AMP increased in the 0.4 microg/mL etomidate group (P<0.05). The hydrolytic activity of H(+)-ATPase increased in the 4 microg/mL etomidate group (P<0.01), but it was not influenced by oligomycin (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Etomidate at 0.4 microg/mL has no significant effect on isolated rat liver mitochonddia, but at 4 microg/mL it can lead to distruption of mitochondrial energy metabolism.

Determination of oropharyngeal pathogenic colonization in the elderly community.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia has become the predominant cause of death for the elderly. It is critical to determine the status of oropharyngeal pathogen colonization in the elderly when treating pneumonia. To explore the efficient approaches to treat age-related pneumonia, we determined the status of oropharyngeal pathogenic colonization in the elderly community. METHODS: Throat swab cultures were used to isolate oropharyngeal pathogens from 706 residents older than 65 years living in the community of Shenyang City. Characteristics of bacterial strains were sorted and identified using drug sensitivity tests. RESULTS: Results of bacterial identification showed that 265 out of 706 samples were positive, thereby exhibiting a 37.5% positive rate. There were 290 bacterial strains isolated from the elderly community in total, of which 248 strains were gram-negative bacilli (GNB) and 42 strains were gram-positive cocci (GNC), accounting for 85.5% and 14.5%, respectively. There were 158 Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, representing 54.4% of the all GNB. CONCLUSION: The rate of oropharyngeal GNB colonization in the elderly community increases and Klebsiella pneumoniae is the most common strain.

N,N'-Bis(2-thienylmethyl-ene)benzene-1,4-diamine.

The Schiff base, C(16)H(12)N(2)S(2), has been synthesized by refluxing an ethano-lic solution of thio-phene-2-carbaldehyde and benzene-1,4-diamine. The center of the benzene ring is located on a crystallographic center of inversion. The dihedral angle between the benzene and thio-phene rings is 63.6 (1)°.

Design, synthesis, and preliminary evaluation of 4-(6-(3-nitroguanidino)hexanamido)pyrrolidine derivatives as potential iNOS inhibitors.

A series of 4-(6-(3-nitroguanidino)hexanamido)pyrrolidine derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their abilities to inhibit inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) isoform. All target compounds were prepared in 11 steps from commercially trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline. The preliminary pharmacological test showed that three compounds, 17, 21, and 30, have the good potency (IC(50)=2.36, 2.68, 2.5 microM, respectively) which are compared to the NOS inhibitor N(G)-nitroarginine(L-NNA) (IC(50)=14.74 microM), and could be used as lead compounds for exploring new iNOS inhibitors in the future.

[Natural inducing factors of peach bud dormancy and roles of Ca2+ in the dormancy induction].

Taking two-year-old peach tree of cv 'Chunjie' as test material, the natural inducing factors of peach bud dormancy and the roles of Ca2+ in the dormancy induction were studied. The results revealed that peach plant was very sensitive to short sunlight and/or natural low temperature. These two factors could induce growth cessation, dormancy, and freezing-resistance development, but their action mechanisms differed with each other. Short sunlight induced the dormancy first and the freezing-resistance then, whereas natural low temperature was in adverse. In case of the cofunction of short sunlight and low temperature, i.e., under the natural condition, short sunlight was the main factor inducing growth cessation, dormancy, and freezing-resistance development, while natural low temperature was the secondary one. The inducement effect of short sunlight was closely related to the actions of Ca2+, because Ca2+ played a messenger role in the signal transduction of short sunlight. In the experiment of supplemental light, it was found that with the decrease of temperature, the Ca2+ had an increasing influx from the vacuole, intercellular space, and cell wall to the cytosol and nuclei. At the same time, plant growth slowed down and finally ceased, dormancy started then, and freezing-resistance developed, which indicated that as a messenger in the signal transduction of natural low temperature, Ca2+ played an important role in the inducement of growth cessation, dormancy, and freezing-resistance development by natural low temperature.