Metrical dental analysis on golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

Dental variation in the Chinese golden monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is here evaluated by univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Allometric analyses indicate that canines and P3s are positively, but other dimensions negatively scaled to mandible and maxilla, and to body size. With the exception of the mesiodistal dimensions of I-1 and M-3, and the buccolingual dimension of Pq, mandibular dental variables show similar scaling relative to body size. Analysis of residuals shows that males have significantly larger canine, P-3 and buccolingual dimensions of the postcanine teeth (M-2 and M-3) than females. A significant difference in shape between the sexes is found in the buccolingual dimension of the upper teeth, but not in the mandible. Unlike the situation in some other species, Female golden monkeys do nor exhibit relatively larger postcanine teeth than males, in fact, the reverse is true, especially for M(2)s and M(3)s. The fact that most of the dental variables show low negative allometry to body size might be related a cold environment that has led to the development of larger body size with I-educed energy loss. When the raw data are examined by Discriminant Function Analysis the sexes are clearly distinguishable.

Molecular identification and expression analysis of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 2 in grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2) is a crucial component of almost the entire tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily signaling pathway. In the present study, a TRAF2 gene has been cloned from grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The full-length cDNA is 3162 bp, including a 60 bp 5' untranslated region (UTR), a 1611 bp open reading frame, and a 1491 bp 3' UTR. The polyadenylation signal (AATAAA) and the mRNA instability motifs (ATTTTA, ATTTA) were followed by a poly(A) tail in the 3' UTR. No signal peptide or transmembrane region has been found in the putative amino acids of grass carp TRAF2 (gcTRAF2). Phylogenetic tree analysis clearly showed that gcTRAF2 is nearest to the TRAF2 gene of goldfish. The identity of gcTRAF2 with its homologs in other vertebrates ranges from 56% to 97%. It is characterized by one RING-type signature at the N-terminus, one zinc finger in the middle part, and one conserved TRAF domain consisting of a C-proximal (TRAF-C) subdomain and a N-proximal (TRAF-N) subdomain. The identity of TRAF-C among all TRAF2 homologs in vertebrates varies from 78% to 97%, whereas the identity of TRAF-N ranges from 56% to 100%. The recombinant gcTRAF2 has been expressed in Escherichia coli using pET-32a expression vector. The rabbit anti-gcTRAF2 polyclonal antibody was obtained. The expression of gcTRAF2 in different organs was examined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. It was widely distributed in heart, head kidney, thymus, brain, gill, liver, spleen, and trunk kidney. This is the first report of a TRAF2 homolog molecule in fish.

Starch grains from dental calculus reveal ancient plant foodstuffs at Chenqimogou site, Gansu Province

National Natural Science Foundation of China [40771205]; National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars [40625002]; Chinese Academy of Sciences [KZCX2-YW-315]

Coal-burning roasted corn and chili as the cause of dental fluorosis for children in southwestern China

To find the pathologic cause of the children's dental fluorosis in southwestern China, diet structure before the age of 6 and prevalence rate of dental fluorosis (DF) of 405 children were investigated, and the fluorine and arsenic content of several materials were determined. The prevalence rate of DF of children living on roasted corn before the age of 6 is 100% with nearly 95% having the mild to severe DF; while that of children living on non-roasted corn or rice is less than 5% with all having very mild DF. The average fluorine and arsenic concentration are 20.26 mg/kg and 0.249 mg/kg in roasted corn, which are about 16 times and 35 times more than in non-roasted corn, respectively. The average fluorine concentration is 78 mg/kg in coal, 1116 mg/kg in binder clay and 313 mg/kg in briquette (coal mixed with clay). The average arsenic concentration of coal is 5.83 mg/kg, the binder clay is 20.94 mg/kg, with 8.52 mg/kg in the briquette. Living on roasted corn and chili is the main pathologic cause of endemic fluorosis in southwestern China. The main source of fluorine and arsenic pollution of roasted corn and chill is the briquette of coal and binder clay. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of immersion in various media on the sorption, solubility, elution of unreacted monomers, and flexural properties of two model dental composite compositions

Immersion in various media has different effect on the properties of dental composites, such as sorption, solubility, elution of unreacted monomers, flexural strength, and flexural elastic modulus. In the present work, the effect of immersion in various media and the relationship between the variation of these properties and the components of dental composite were investigated.

Cloning and expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF alpha) cDNA from red seabream Pagrus major

A fragment of TNFalpha cDNA sequence from red seabream was cloned by homology cloning approach with two degenerated primers which were designed based on the conserved regions of other animals' TNF sequences. The sequence was elongated by 3' and 5' RACE to get the full length CDS sequence. This sequence contained 1264 nucleotides that included a 5' UTR of 85 bp, a 3' UTR of 514 bp and an open reading frame (ORF) of 666 bp which could encode 222 amino acids propeptide. In 3' UTR, there were several mRNA instability motifs and three endotoxin-responsive sequences, but the sequence lacked the polyadenylation signal. The deduced peptide had a clear transmembrane domain, a TNFalpha family signature and a TNF2 family profile. The cell attachment sequence and the glycosaminoglycan attachment sites were also found in the sequence. The red seabream TNF sequence shared relatively high similarity with both mammalian TNFalpha and TNFbeta by multiple sequence alignments. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the piscine TNFalpha were located independently in a different branch compared with mammalian TNFalpha and TNFbeta. Based on the primary and secondary structure analysis and gene expression study, we could concluded that the red seabream TNF should be a TNFalpha, not TNFbeta. RT-PCR was used to study TNFa transcript expression. 24 h after the red seabream was challenged by Vibrio anguillarum, the RS TNFalpha transcript expression were detected in blood, brain, gill, heart, head kidney, kidney, Ever, muscle and spleen. Results showed that TNFalpha mRNA was constitutively expressed in parts of the tissues both in stimulated and unstimulated fish and the expression could be enhanced after the pathogen infection.

Construction of shuttle, expression vector of human tumor necrosis factor alpha (hTNF-alpha) gene and its expression in a cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120

The construction of the shuttle, expression vector of human tumor necrosis factor alpha (hTNF-alpha) gene and its expression in a cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 was reported. The 700-bp hTNF cDNA fragments have been recovered from plasmid pRL-rhTNF, then inserted downstream of the promoter PpsbA in the plasmid pRL439. The resultant intermediary plasmid pRL-TC has further been combined with the shuttle vector pDC-8 to get the shuttle, expression vector pDC-TNF. The expression of the rhTNF gene in Escherichia coil has been analyzed by SDS-PAGE and thin-layer scanning, and the results show that the expressed TNF protein with these two vectors is 16.9 percent (pRL-TC) and 15.0 percent (pDC-TNF) of the total proteins in the cells, respectively, while the expression level of TNF gene in plasmid pRL-rhTNF is only 11.8 percent. Combined with the participation of the conjugal and helper plasmids, pDC-TNF has been introduced into Anabaena sg PCC 7120 by triparental conjugative transfer, and the stable transgenic strains have been obtained. The existence of the introduced plasmid pDC-TNF in recombinant cyanobacterial cells has been demonstrated by the results of the agarose electrophoresis with the extracted plasmid samples and Southern blotting with alpha-(32)p labeled hTNF cDNA probes, while the expression of the hTNF gene in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 has been confirmed by the results of Western blotting with extracted protein samples and human TNF-alpha monoclonal antibodies. The cytotoxicity assays using the mouse cancer cell line L929 proved the cytotoxicity of the TNF in the crude extracts from the transgenic cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120.

A novel tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member (CsTL) from Ciona savignyi: Molecular identification and expression analysis

A novel invertebrate TNF ligand was identified and characterized in Ciona savignyi. The CsTL cDNA consisted of 995 nucleotides and encoded 281 amino acids. A conserved TNF family signature and several motifs of TNF ligand superfamily were identified in deduced amino acid sequence of CsTL. Phylogenetic analysis grouped CsTL, CiTNF (predicted TNF ligand superfamily homolog in Ciona intestinalis) and urchin TL1A with their own cluster apart from mammalian TNF alpha, LTA, TNFSF15 and fish TNFa proteins. Expression studies demonstrated that CsTL mRNA is present in all tested tissues from unchallenged ascidians and its expression was significantly upregulated in hemocytes following LIPS injection. The recombinant CsTL protein expressed using a baculovirus expression system showed potential cytotoxic activity in L929 cells. Present results indicated that TNF ligand superfamity molecules are present in marine invertebrates. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.