High prevalence of HIV-1 and hepatitis C virus coinfection among injection drug users in the southeastern region of Yunnan, China

The southeastern region of Yunnan province is a key site for drug trafficking and HIV-1 infection spread from the west of Yunnan and Laos to southeastern China. To investigate the prevalence of HIV-1 infection and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection among injection drug users (IDUs) in southeastern Yunnan, three cohorts of 285 addicts, including 242 IDUs and 43 oral drug users, living in the cities of Gejiu and Kaiyuan and the county of Yanshan were studied. HIV-1 and HCV infections were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and/or polymerase chain reaction. Data on the age, sex, risk behavior, drug use history, employment, ethnic background, and marriage status were obtained by interview. The overall prevalence of HIV-1 infection was 71.9%. The rate of HCV coinfection among 138 HIV-1-infected IDUs was 99.3%. Most HIV-infected IDUs were 20 to 35 years old (86.7%) and were ethnic Han (75.9%), suggesting that the epidemic in Yunnan is no longer confined to non-Han ethnic minorities, HIV prevalence in female IDUs (81.2%) was significantly higher than in male IDUs (68.2%) (p <.05). The prevalence of HIV infection reached 68.4% after 1 year of injection drug use. Needle/syringe sharing is the major high risk factor for the spread of HIV-1 and HCV infections. Large-scale educational campaigns are urgently needed to reduce the spread of HIV and HCV infection in these regions.

The relation between translation speed and protein secondary structure

Based on the statistical analysis of 119 human and 92 E. coli proteins it was found that for both human and E. coli, the mRNA sequences consisting of tri-codon and tetra-codon with high translation speed preferably code for alpha helices more than for coils. For beta strand, the preference/ avoidance oscillates with the translation speed. Moreover, the non-homogeneous usages of tri-codon and tetra-codon with different translation speeds in a given secondary structure have also been found. These results cannot be simply explained by the effect of stochastic fluctuation.

Mass rearing of Aphidius gifuensis (Hymenoptera : Aphidiidae) for biological control of Myzus persicae (Homoptera : Aphididae)

The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, is a major pest of tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum, in Yunnan province, China, where its control still depends on the use of insecticides. In recent years, the local government and farmers have sought to improve the biological control of this tobacco pest. In this paper, we present methods for mass rearing Aphidius gifuensis, a dominant endoparasitoid of M. persicae on tobacco plants in this region. The tobacco cultivar K326 (N. tabacum) was used as the host plant and M. persicae as the host insect. In the greenhouse, we collected tobacco seedlings for about 35 days (i.e., until the six-true-leaf stage), transferred them to 7.5-cm diameter pots, and kept these plants in the greenhouse for another 18 days. These pots were then transferred to an insectary-greenhouse, where the tobacco seedlings were inoculated with five to seven wingless adult M. persicae per pot. After 3 days, the infested seedlings were moved to a second greenhouse to allow the aphid population to increase, and after an additional 4 +/- 1 days when 182 +/- 4.25 aphid adults and nymphs were produced per pot, they were inoculated with A. gifuensis. With this rearing system, we were able to produce 256 +/- 8.8 aphid mummies per pot, with an emergence rate of 95.6 +/- 2.45%; 69% were females. The daily cost of parasite production (recurring costs only) was US$ 0.06 per 1000 aphid mummies. With this technique, we released 109 800 parasitoids in 1998, 196 000 in 1999, 780 000 in 2000, and 5 600 000 in 2001 during a 2-month period each year This production method is discussed with respect to countrywide usage in biological control and integrated control of M. persicae.

延迟投饵对厚颌鲂仔鱼的影响

在室内养殖条件下,研究厚颌鲂仔鱼的摄食、耐饥饿和恢复生长能力。试验结果表明:(1)仔鱼在孵出后2～3d开口摄食,卵黄囊在之后的2d耗尽,饥饿仔鱼在12～13日龄达到不可逆点(PNR);(2)饥饿仔鱼的初次摄食率在卵黄囊耗尽时达到最高,保持在80%以上的时间为7d;(3)仔鱼在PNR后死亡率急剧增加,PNR后第3d仔鱼全部死亡;(4)经恢复生长试验,延迟3d投饵对仔鱼的存活率影响不大,延迟3～6d投饵对仔鱼全长生长影响不大。

白氏文昌鱼FADD的克隆及功能研究

Fas死亡结构域相关蛋白(Fas-associated death domain protein,FADD)是死亡信号转导通路中的连接蛋白,在脊椎动物中其结构和功能都很保守。本文首次克隆了头索动物白氏文昌鱼(Branchiostoma belcheri)FADD(bbFADD)的cDNA和基因组DNA序列。bbFADDcDNA全长1239 bp,编码217个氨基酸。与脊椎动物的FADD一样,bbFADD含有N端的死亡效应结构域(Death Effector Domain,DED)和C端的死亡结构域(Dea

滇池微囊藻水华多糖的提取和化学特征

为了研究"水华"微囊藻多糖及其对水体化学和生态特性的影响,以去离子水、pH5的缓冲液和pH9.2的缓冲液为提取液,分别在4℃和80℃条件下从滇池"水华"微囊藻中提取多糖,并对其所提多糖部分化学特征进行分析.结果表明pH9.2的缓冲液所提多糖总得率最高,为2.25%;pH5的磷酸盐缓冲液所提多糖总得率最低,为0.383%.溶解性分析表明,不同提取液所提多糖在所试验的几种溶剂中表现为不溶、分散或部分溶解,未能找到将多塘完全溶解的溶剂.气相色谱和气-质联用分析表明,不同提取液所提多糖都含有中性单糖鼠李糖、阿拉伯

青岛棘洪滩水库浮游藻类状况及水质评价

2003年5月至2004年5月对棘洪滩水库藻类的群落结构进行了研究。共发现藻类49属63种。水库进水口、水库中心、出水口藻类的种类组成没有明显差异,群落季节变化明显,冬春季以硅藻、隐藻为主,其优势种分别为小环藻和尖尾蓝隐藻。金藻有短时大规模出现,主要是分歧锥囊藻。夏秋季以蓝藻、绿藻为主。藻类周年变动模式为单峰型,藻类细胞密度最低值出现在1月份出水口,为0.05×106ind./L,主要是硅藻类的小环藻和隐藻,占总数的92.8%;最高值出现在10月份进水口,为196.7×106ind/L,主要是丝状蓝藻包括