Variation patterns of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene with secondary structure constraints and their application to phylogeny of cyprinine fishes (Teleostei : Cypriniformes)

The mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences from 93 cyprinid fishes were examined to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships within the diverse and economically important subfamily Cyprininae. Within the subfamily a biased nucleotide composition (A > T, C > G) was observed in the loop regions of the gene, and in stem regions apparent selective pressures of base pairing showed a bias in favor of G over C and T over A. The bias may be associated with transition-transversion bias. Rates of nucleotide substitution were lower in stems than in loops. Analysis of compensatory substitutions across these taxa demonstrates 68% covariation in the gene and a logical weighting factor to account for dependence in mutations for phylogenetic inference should be 0.66. Comparisons of varied stem-loop weighting schemes indicate that the down-weightings for stem regions could improve the phylogenetic analysis and the degree of non-independence of stem substitutions was not as important as expected. Bayesian inference under four models of nucleotide substitution indicated that likelihood-based phylogenetic analyses were more effective in improving the phylogenetic performance than was weighted parsimony analysis. In Bayesian analyses, the resolution of phylogenies under the 16-state models for paired regions, incorporating GTR + G + I models for unpaired regions was better than those under other models. The subfamily Cyprininae was resolved as a monophyletic group, as well as tribe Labein and several genera. However, the monophyly of the currently recognized tribes, such as Schizothoracin, Barbin, Cyprinion + Onychostoma lineages, and some genera was rejected. Furthermore, comparisons of the parsimony and Bayesian analyses and results of variable length bootstrap analysis indicates that the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene should contain important character variation to recover well-supported phylogeny of cyprinid taxa whose divergences occurred within the recent 8 MY, but could not provide resolution power for deep phylogenies spanning 10-19 MYA. (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Induction of hepatic cytochrome P4501A1/2B activity and disruption of thyroglobulin synthesis/secretion by mono-ortho polychlorinated biphenyl and its hydroxylated metabolites in rat cell lines

As the active metabolites of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) are found in wildlife and human tissues. They have been proposed as main contributors for endocrine disruption of PCBs in living organisms. In this study, mono-ortho PCB 156 and its hydroxylated metabolites 4'-OH-PCB 159, 4'-OH-PCB 121, and 4'-OH-PCB 72 were selected to investigate the toxic effects on rat hepatoma H4IIE cell line and rat thyroid follicle FRTL-5 cell line at concentrations of 1, 10(2), 10(4) nM. 7-Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and 7-pentoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (PROD) activities were determined with micro-EROD/PROD to indicate cytochrome P4501 A1 (CYP1A1) and cytochrome P4502B (CYP2B) induction in the H4IIE cell after exposure for 72 h. To assess thyroid disruption of these compounds, thyroglobulin concentrations also were detected inside FRTL-5 cell with immunocellularchemistry and in its medium with radioimmunoassay after exposure for 24 It. Significant inductions of EROD activity by PCB 156 at 102 and 104 nM (p < 0.05) were observed, but no effects by the three OH-PCBs in H4IIE cell line. 7-Pentoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase activities were induced only by 10(4) nM of PCB156 and the three OH-PCBs (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, significant increases of thyroglobulin concentrations were observed in the medium of FRTL-5 cell exposed to 4'-OH-PCB 121 and 4'-OH-PCB 72 at all of the test concentrations (p < 0.05), but not to the other compounds. The results demonstrated that mono-ortho PCBs mainly could be metabolized to hydroxylated metabolites through CYP1A1 instead of CYP2B. Moreover, after being metabolized, OH-PCBs still sustained the ability to induce PROD activity and did exhibit the disruption on thyroglobulin synthesis/excretion in rat cells.

Assessing effects of site characteristics on remediation secondary life cycle impact with a generalised framework

The 'sustainable remediation' concept has been broadly embraced by industry and governments in recent years in both the US and Europe. However, there is a strong need for more research to enhance its 'practicability'. In an attempt to fill this research gap, this study developed a generalised framework for selecting the most environmentally sustainable remedial technology under various site conditions. Four remediation technologies were evaluated: pump and treat (P&T), enhanced in situ bioremediation (EIB), permeable reactive barrier (PRB), and in situ chemical reduction (ISCR). Within the developed framework and examined site condition ranges, our results indicate that site characteristics have a profound effect on the life cycle impact of various remedial alternatives, thus providing insights and valuable information for determining what is considered the most desired remedy from an environmental sustainability perspective. © 2014 © 2014 University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Hydroxylated metabolites of polychlorinated biphenyls and their endocrine disrupting mechanism

Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs a group of main active metabolites of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) which are typical persistent organic pollutants (Pops) I have been identified in wild animals and human. The endocrine disruption of OH-PCBs has been drawn great attention due to the similarity of their chemical structures to the natural estrogens and thyroid hormones. The metabolic pathways of PCBs, the levels of OHPCBs in organism, the endocrine disruption and other adverse effects of OH-PCBs are reviewed. The further investigation of OH-PCBs will not only reveal the toxicological mechanism of PCBs, but also can lay scientific basis for setting up the risk assessment of POPs contamination and early-warning system in China.

Effect of buffer layer growth conditions on the secondary hexagonal phase content in cubic GaN films on GaAs(001) substrates

In this letter, we investigated the effect of the buffer layer growth conditions on the secondary hexagonal phase content in cubic GaN films on GaAs(0 0 1) substrate. The reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) pattern of the low-temperature GaN buffer layers shows that both the deposition temperature and time are important in obtaining a smooth surface. Four-circle X-ray double-crystal diffraction (XRDCD) reciprocal space mapping was used to study the hexagonal phase inclusions in the cubic GaN (c-GaN) films grown on the buffer layers. The calculation of the volume contents of the hexagonal phase shows that higher temperature and longer time deposition of the buffer layer is not preferable for growing pure c-GaN film. Under optimized condition, 47 meV FWHM of near band gap emission of the c-GaN film was achieved. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

低极性化合物的电喷雾质谱检测方法及几种中藏药材的活性成分研究

本学位论文首先报道了为解决低极性化合物的电喷雾质谱（ESI-MS）分析难题而建立的一种衍生化分析方法；然后从色谱-质谱联用分析、分离纯化和结构鉴定等方面分别报道了几种中藏药材的活性成分研究。论文由下述六章组成： 第一章报道了盐酸羟胺衍生化方法在电喷雾质谱 (ESI-MS) 分析中的应用。该方法利用盐酸羟胺和羰基成肟的快速反应，建立了针对三萜酮等含酮或醛羰基低极性化合物的ESI-MS 信号增强技术。此方法不仅可应用于增强羰基化合物的ESI-MS 质谱信号，还可检测化合物中羰基的个数以及辨别涉及羰基官能团的同分异构体。此外，通过简单的氧化反应，还可将该方法拓展到三萜醇、甾醇等含羟基的低极性化合物，增强它们的ESI-MS 信号。对比已报道的相关ESI-MS 增强质谱信号的衍生化方法，此方法有经济、实用、快速和简便的显著特点。 第二章是关于野生羌活及其栽培品种化学成分的色谱-质谱联用分析。对不同产地野生羌活生长过程中活性成分的动态变化、野生羌活不同形态部位和人工栽培羌活中的活性成分含量进行了HPLC 定量分析。结果表明主要活性成分羌活醇和异欧前胡素都随生长期存在规律性变化，羌活不同形态部位中的活性成分含量也有明显不同。这些实验结果有些较好地印证了传统中医的用药理论，有些也对羌活的传统使用方法提出了新的建议。 第三章介绍了几种传统中藏药材的色谱-质谱联用及串联质谱分析。通过GC-MS 方法，从藏药材长花党参挥发油中共分离鉴定出45 个化合物；利用HPLC方法测定了该藏药材中的主要化学成分——木犀草素的含量（0.7%）；利用串联质谱技术，对西番莲和射干中的主要成分进行了快速鉴定，从西番莲中鉴定了4个黄酮碳苷；从不同产地的射干和川射干中鉴定了8 个主要异黄酮成分，其中包括一个未见报道的化合物。 第四章的内容为藏药材石莲叶点地梅的活性成分研究。从植物石莲叶点地梅(Androsace integra (Maxim.) Hand.-Mazz.) 乙醇提取物的正丁醇萃取部分共分离和鉴定了6 个化合物，利用MS 和NMR 等现代波谱学技术阐明了它们的结构：其中包括4 个三萜类化合物：分别是androsacin (1)、 ardisiacrispin A (2) 、saxifragifolin A (3) 和20(29)-lupen-3-one (4)；一个神经酰胺：4-羟基-Δ8,9(Z)-鞘氨醇-2'-羟基正二十四碳酸酰胺(5)；一个甾体类化合物：胡萝卜苷(6)。化合物1为新的13,28-epoxy-oleanane 型三萜皂苷，在其结构表征的过程中，采用LC-MS 进行糖分析，获得了值得推广的好结果。通过活性筛选发现化合物1~3 对HepG2肝癌细胞表现出不同程度的抑制活性，其中化合物2 活性最好，其IG50 为1.65μg/mL。 第五章是关于一些传统中藏药材的农药活性筛选。利用Syngenta 公司的活性筛选平台对68 种传统中藏药材醇提物进行了抗菌和除草的生物源农药活性筛选。结果表明所筛选的68 种植物提取物中，共有14 种样品表现出明显的除草/杀虫活性，其中水母雪莲花、松萝和茯神木等植物提取物还具有多种生物活性。活性成分还有待进一步追踪分离、纯化和结构鉴定。 第六章为文献综述，概述了羌活药材的研究进展。对羌活属及药用羌活植物从分类学、本草学、品质评价、人工栽培、化学成分及药理作用等方面进行了文献归纳和总结。 In this dissertation, an electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) signal enhancement method, as well as the work of bioactive components study, HPLC-MS/MS application, bioassay screening, chromatograph separation and structure identification of the metabolites in several medicinal herbs have been reported. First chapter expounded a rapid, simple ESI-MS sensitivity enhancement method for detecting carbonyl groups in natural products has been developed by using hydroxylamine hydrochloride (NH2OH·HCl) as a derivatization reagent. We use the oxime formed during the derivatization reactions and its Beckmann rearrangement intermediates as a means of detecting the carbonyl groups originally present in these triterpenoids. In comparison with other derivatization methods in the literature, this method is simple, specific and can be used to detect carbonyl groups in triterpenoids which have low polarity and are poorly or non-ionizable. Moreover, it can also be used to detect hydroxyl groups by using the Dess-Martin periodinane (DMP) to convert primary and secondary hydroxyls into carbonyl groups. Chapter 2 reported an HPLC-MS method for analyzing the main bioactive compounds in both wild and cultured Notopterygium incisum. The results indicated that the main bioactive compounds varied through different seasons regularly, and in different commercial parts of this herb the content of these compounds also differed from each other. The quantitative analysis results showed that in the traditional commercial parts, the content of main chemical constitutes in Silkworm Notopterygium, Bamboo Notopterygium and Irregular-nodal Notopterygium are higher than that in Striped Notopterygium. This result is tally with the traditionally concept that the quality of Notopterygium, Bamboo Notopterygium and Irregular-nodal Notopterygium are better than that of Striped Notopterygium, which means that the quality of rhizomes is better than main roots. The chemical constituents of cultured N. incisum is reported for the first time in this dissertation and the analysis results showed some growth curves of chemical constituents in this plant, but still left some questions unanswered. Chapter 3 discussed the GC/LC-MS analysis of the traditional Chinese medicines Codonopsis thalictrifolis, Passiflora incarnate, Belamcanda chinensis and Passiflora incarnate. The main constituent, luteolin was isolated and identified from the traditional Tibet medicine of C. thalictrifolis. The quantitative analysis by HPLC has revealed that the content of luteolin in this herb is 0.7%. GC-MS was employed to analyzed chemical constituents of the essential oil from the flower of C. thalictrifolis. More than 60 peaks were detected and 45 of them were identified by comparing their spectra with that of the standards in the database and literatures. ESI-MS/MS was used to analyze the n-butanol extract of Passiflora incarnate. Based on the information of pseudo molecular ions and fragment ions of the glycosides, four major flavone-C-glycosides have been detected and identified as 7-methoxyluteolin-6-C-β-D-glucopyranoside, vitexin, swertisin and orientin. The isoflavone compounds in theextracts of three samples of B. chinensis collected in Gansu, Sichuan and Hunan, and the extract of Iris tectorum collected in Sichuan were analyzed by using TOF-HRMS and IT-MS. From the extracts of these herbs, a new isoflavone, identified as 5’,5,6,7-tetrahydroxy-3’4’-dimethoxyl isoflavon, and 7 known ones have been identified by analyzing the fragmentation patterns and their molecular formulas given by HRMS and the tandem mass spectrometry acquired by IT-MS. Chapter 4 elucidated the isolation and identification of a new triterpene saponin, androsacin (1), along with five known compounds (2-6) were isolated from the whole plants of Androsace integra (Maxim.) Hand.-Mazz., an herb used in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine. The chemical structure of the new compound was established as 3β-O-{β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→2)-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-[O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)]-α-L-arabinopyranosyl}-16α-hydroxy-13β,28-epoxy-olean-30-al by analyzing its MS, 1D- and 2D-NMR spectra. Compound 2 was cytotoxic toward HepG2 cancer cell with the GI50 value of 1.65 μg/mL. Chapter 5 described the biogenic pesticide activity screening of 68 traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine extractions. The intention of this study is to explore bioactive natural compounds from these traditional medicinal herbs for biogenic insecticides use. Based on Syngenta’s bioassay, 14 extractions of these traditional medicines showed pesticide activities, and some of them had multi-activities on antibacterial and insecticidal. Chapter 6 is a review on the chemical and bioactivity research progress of Notopterygium incisum and N. forbesii.

Comparison doses of secondary neutron with the heavy ions in a 75-mev/n heavy ion beam

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