Development of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase and oxoprolinase in rat kidney

Summary -Glutamylcysteine synthetase is present in barely detectable amounts in foetal kidney. Its activity starts to increase in postnatal life. In contrast, oxoproline is already found in significant quantities in the foetal tissue. Both enzymes show marked elevation in activities during the weaning period.Acknowledgment. The work was supported by a research grant awarded by the Committee on Research and Conference Grants, University of Hong Kong.     

RNA interference screen for human genes associated with West Nile virus infection

West Nile virus (WNV), and related flaviviruses such as tick-borne encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever and dengue viruses, constitute a significant global human health problem. However, our understanding of the molecular interaction of such flaviviruses with mammalian host cells is limited. WNV encodes only 10 proteins, implying that it may use many cellular proteins for infection. WNV enters the cytoplasm through pH-dependent endocytosis, undergoes cycles of translation and replication, assembles progeny virions in association with endoplasmic reticulum, and exits along the secretory pathway. RNA interference (RNAi) presents a powerful forward genetics approach to dissect virus-host cell interactions. Here we report the identification of 305 host proteins that affect WNV infection, using a human-genome-wide RNAi screen. Functional clustering of the genes revealed a complex dependence of this virus on host cell physiology, requiring a wide variety of molecules and cellular pathways for successful infection. We further demonstrate a requirement for the ubiquitin ligase CBLL1 in WNV internalization, a post-entry role for the endoplasmic-reticulum-associated degradation pathway in viral infection, and the monocarboxylic acid transporter MCT4 as a viral replication resistance factor. By extending this study to dengue virus, we show that flaviviruses have both overlapping and unique interaction strategies with host cells. This study provides a comprehensive molecular portrait of WNV-human cell interactions that forms a model for understanding single plus-stranded RNA virus infection, and reveals potential antiviral targets.     

Pancreatic islet cell damage in mice produced by coxsackie B1 and encephalomyocarditis viruses

Zusammenfassung In den -Zellen der Langerhans'schen Inseln des Pankreas wurden Viruskristalle von mit Encephalomyocarditis-Virus oder Coxsackie-B₁0Virus infizierten Mäusen gefunden. Die Inselzellen zeigten sowohl leichte als auch schwere Schädigung.

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Supported by grant HE-06769 from the National Heart and Lung Institute of the U.S. Public Health Service, the Rudolph Matas Memorial Fund for the Kate Prewitt Hess Laboratory, the Rowell A. Billups Fund for Research in Heart Disease and the Feazel Laboratory.     

基于GA的计算机数学试验Mm-LH设计

将遗传算法(ＧＡ)引入到计算机数学试验(ＣＥ)的研究中,在ＭｍＬＨ设计空间,给出新的位串编码规则及相应的遗传操作,从而得到一个构造ＭｍＬＨ设计的有效方法,与传统方法相比,它具有更高的构造效率比,并可将其用于其它准则的设计研究与构造中·     

A 1.5 million-base pair inversion polymorphism in families with Williams-Beuren syndrome.

Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is most often caused by hemizygous deletion of a 1.5-Mb interval encompassing at least 17 genes at 7q11.23 (refs. 1,2). As with many other haploinsufficiency diseases, the mechanism underlying the WBS deletion is thought to be unequal meiotic recombination, probably mediated by the highly homologous DNA that flanks the commonly deleted region. Here, we report the use of interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to identify a genomic polymorphism in families with WBS, consisting of an inversion of the WBS region. We have observed that the inversion is hemizygous in 3 of 11 (27%) atypical affected individuals who show a subset of the WBS phenotypic spectrum but do not carry the typical WBS microdeletion. Two of these individuals also have a parent who carries the inversion. In addition, in 4 of 12 (33%) families with a proband carrying the WBS deletion, we observed the inversion exclusively in the parent transmitting the disease-related chromosome. These results suggest the presence of a newly identified genomic variant within the population that may be associated with the disease. It may result in predisposition to primarily WBS-causing microdeletions, but may also cause translocations and inversions.     

A polymorphic DNA marker linked to cystic fibrosis is located on chromosome 7

Although cystic fibrosis (CF) is among the most common inherited diseases in Caucasian populations, the basic biochemical defect is not yet known. CF is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait apparently due to mutations in a single gene, whence the efforts made to identify the genetic locus responsible by linkage studies. Two markers have recently been identified that are genetically linked to CF: one is a genetic variation in serum level of activity of the enzyme paraoxonase, and the other is a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) identified with a randomly isolated DNA probe. We report here that the genetic locus DOCRI-917 defined by the cloned DNA probe is located on chromosome 7.     

生物多样性保护与自然保护区旅游资源开发——哈纳斯国家级自然保护区三个旅游发展规划比较研究

本文对涉及哈纳斯国家级自然保护区旅游资源开发的三个规划类文本进行了比较研究。指出,对类似的自然保护区旅游资源的开发和其他经营类开发应该以保护生物多样性的存在和发展为基础,使保护区所在地区的社会经济发展和生物多样性的存在共同处于可持续发展状态之中。     

Exome sequencing identifies frequent mutation of ARID1A in molecular subtypes of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is a heterogeneous disease with multiple environmental etiologies and alternative pathways of carcinogenesis. Beyond mutations in TP53, alterations in other genes or pathways account for only small subsets of the disease. We performed exome sequencing of 22 gastric cancer samples and identified previously unreported mutated genes and pathway alterations; in particular, we found genes involved in chromatin modification to be commonly mutated. A downstream validation study confirmed frequent inactivating mutations or protein deficiency of ARID1A, which encodes a member of the SWI-SNF chromatin remodeling family, in 83% of gastric cancers with microsatellite instability (MSI), 73% of those with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and 11% of those that were not infected with EBV and microsatellite stable (MSS). The mutation spectrum for ARID1A differs between molecular subtypes of gastric cancer, and mutation prevalence is negatively associated with mutations in TP53. Clinically, ARID1A alterations were associated with better prognosis in a stage-independent manner. These results reveal the genomic landscape, and highlight the importance of chromatin remodeling, in the molecular taxonomy of gastric cancer.     

Digital Library Service Initiative of the Hong Kong Institute of Education Library

Introduction　　ThemajorgoaloftheHongKongInstituteofEduca tion (HKIEd)Libraryistoprovidethebestservicestoli braryusersseamlesslyandefficiently.Sinceitsinception ,theHKIEdLibraryhasadoptedaninnovativedigitalli braryapproachtobuildupitsservicesandresources.Foralmostadecade,theHKIEdLibraryhasbeendevelopingitsmulti facetlibraryservicesarounditscoredigitalli brarycomponentsoftheINNOPACIntegratedLibrarySys tem ,LibraryWebsite,electronicresourcesfromvendors,andin housedevelopedknowledgeba…