受体功能区结构与环境内分泌干扰效应生物差异的关系

环境中存在的多种内分泌干扰物能够与生物体内的天然激素受体选择性结合并产生多种生物效应,由于受体功能区三维结构的不同,其内分泌干扰活性存在着种间、种内、组织间等的种种差异,限制了不同物种间毒性效应的外推研究,增加了环境内分泌干扰物筛选和风险评价的难度.论文综述了基于受体介导的环境内分泌干扰物生物活性与相应受体选择性及受体功能区结构关系的研究进展,并利用分子模拟方法分析探讨了雌激素受体与部分化合物结合作用模式,讨论了目前存在的问题,对以后有关方面的研究提出了建议.     

多溴联苯醚和全氟烷基酸的分子毒理机制研究

多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)和全氟烷基酸(PFAAs)是两类使用量大、环境污染广泛、人体暴露严重的新型有机污染物,2009年已纳入《斯德哥尔摩公约》持久性有机污染物(POPs)名单,但其毒性效应及作用机制并不明确.本文综述了本课题组近几年针对多溴联苯醚PBDEs和全氟烷基酸PFAAs的分子毒理机制研究工作,主要集中在这两类污染物对甲状腺系统、雌激素系统和肝脏脂肪酸代谢系统干扰效应的分子机制研究.本文分别从分子、细胞和活体三个层面,研究了污染物与核受体的直接结合作用、结合后受体的构象变化、细胞内受体的转录活性、以及活体暴露后受体调控基因的表达变化,由此阐明了污染物通过与受体直接作用导致细胞和活体生物功能改变的分子机制.同时结合计算模拟,探讨了污染物生物效应与其化学结构之间的关系,发现污染物的受体活性取决于它们与受体结合的空间构型,而其活性强度基本与二者的结合能力一致,主要受疏水作用和氢键的影响.此外,还通过研究污染物与天然配体转运蛋白的相互作用,明确了各个污染物与转运蛋白的结合能力,探讨了其构效关系,并评估了污染物对天然配体在体内转运过程的潜在干扰效应.通过上述研究工作,提出了多层面、多靶点研究环境污染物分子毒理机制的新思路,建立和引进了研究污染物与生物靶分子相互作用的新方法,发现了PBDEs、PFAAs与TR、ER、PPARγ核受体结合的新模式,为深入了解这些污染物的分子毒理机制提供了有用的信息和有效的研究手段.     

多溴二苯醚类化合物干扰人雌激素受体alpha活性机理的理论研究

基于分子对接方法探讨了多溴二苯醚(PBDEs)类化合物与人雌激素受体α亚型间的分子作用机理.对多溴二苯醚类化合物是否具有拟雌激素功能的研究得出:可通过对接打分值和化合物结构特征来推测PBDEs母体化合物是否具有拟雌激素活性;对HO-PBDEs,与氨基酸残基GLU53和/或ARG394形成氢键可能是影响其拟雌激素活性的重要因素;对MeO-PBDEs,疏水MeO-位于结合腔的疏水中部有利于拟雌激素活性.从结构及构象分析得出,邻位疏水基(Br-、MeO-)有利于PBDEs类化合物的拟雌激素活性.同时对多溴二苯醚类化合物是否具有抗雌激素功能的结合特征研究发现,表现出抗雌激素活性的部分PBDEs类化合物伸进通常被雌激素受体拮抗剂雷洛昔芬和4-羟基它莫西芬的烷基胺侧链占据的通道,而大多数未表现出抗雌激素活性的PBDEs类化合物的结合模式类似雌激素受体激动剂17β-雌二醇,位于结合腔,没有伸进通道.本研究从化合物结构及化合物在受体内结合的构象特征上解释化合物活性不同的原因,以期能够利用构象分析得到的结果进行筛选.     

内分泌干扰物对核受体二聚化影响的研究进展

环境内分泌干扰物(endocrine disrupting chemicals,EDCs)可模仿或拮抗天然激素与核受体结合,干扰核受体的同源或异源二聚,进而通过共调节因子的招募调控转录活性,最终引起内分泌干扰效应.目前研究主要针对EDCs与核受体的结合过程,忽视了其对核受体二聚化过程的影响,而该过程的阻断可直接导致转录失活.EDCs对于不同核受体二聚化的影响不同,只有激动剂EDCs能够促进雄激素受体(androgen receptor,AR)的同源二聚化,而雌激素受体(estrogen receptor,ER)在与具有激动或拮抗活性的EDCs结合后都可诱导ER二聚体的形成,但二聚化类型不同.通过检索ToxCast和Tox21数据库发现多达227种EDCs可以诱导ER二聚化,相比于ERα-ERα同源二聚体(6.09％ ～7.38％的活性率),EDCs更易诱导ERα-ERβ异源二聚体(11.25％ ～12.22％的活性率)和ERβ-ERβ同源二聚体(10.02％ ～11.69％的活性率).EDCs也能够差异性诱导其他核受体如维生素D受体(vitamin D receptor,VDR)与维甲酸X受体(retinoid X receptor,RXR)形成的异源二聚体,不同类型的二聚体对于研究EDCs转录活性的生理学相关性具有重要意义.基于经济合作与发展组织(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,OECD)报告的参考化学品研究发现,相比于配受体结合活性,二聚活性与转录活性之间有着更好的相关关系.本文从EDCs介导的核受体二聚化转录机制、二聚化与转录活性间的关系以及二聚化研究方法三方面,总结EDCs对核受体二聚化的影响,以期为深入理解EDCs的分子作用机制,推进化合物的内分泌干扰风险评估提供参考.     

对特辛基苯酚干扰雌激素受体作用的分子基础及其对ERβ亚型选择性结合的理论研究

对特辛基苯酚(4-tert-octylphenol,PTOP)是一种环境内分泌干扰物。已有研究发现虽然其能够直接与雌激素受体(estrogen receptor,ER)的两种亚型(ERα,ERβ)结合并产生干扰效应,但其结合能力却各不相同,PTOP对ERβ表现出更强的结合活性。为了探究PTOP与ER结合的分子机制及其对ER两种亚型的选择性机制,本文采用分子动力学模拟对PTOP-ER复合物进行了研究,并利用MM-GBSA方法计算了结合自由能。结果表明,范德华作用是维持PTOP与ER结合的主要驱动力;而极性相互作用的差异是导致PTOP对ERα和ERβ产生选择性结合的重要因素,PTOP与ERα之间的极性溶剂化作用阻碍了两者的结合。将PTOP与ER的天然底物雌二醇进行比较,发现PTOP与ER口袋之间缺乏氢键稳定二者结合,因此PTOP的结合活性较低。计算模拟亦指出了PTOP结合过程中发挥重要作用的关键氨基酸。以上计算结果将有助于我们进一步理解PTOP影响ER介导生理过程的干扰机制。     

高职院校科技创新能力结构及其评价指标体系的研究

阐述了高职院校科技创新能力、结构及其评价指标体系与综合测评方法研究的价值与意义,探讨分析了高职院校科技创新能力的内涵及其基本特征与基本结构,并在此基础上论述了高职院校科技创新能力结构要素之间的相互关系.并以系统学的理论为指导,将高职院校科技创新能力结构要素进行系统深入分析,构建了一套评价高职院校科技创新能力结构的指标体系,并提出了高职院校科技创新能力的综合测评方法.表1,参6.     

卤代苯甲醚正辛醇/水分配系数(lgKow)的QSPR研究

基于卤代苯甲醚类化合物的定量结构与性质关系,对其中有正辛醇/水分配系数(lgKow)数据的43个卤代苯甲醚进行了HF/6-31G·水平上的结构优化,并在优化结构的基础上进行了分子静电势及其导出参数的计算.选取其中的27个化合物作为训练集,应用多元线性回归方法对卤代苯甲醚的lgKow与分子结构参数进行了关联,其余16个化合物作为测试集.结果表明:分子静电势参数结合分子最低空轨道能级可以很好地表达卤代苯甲醚的lgKow与其分子结构间的定量关系,所建立的QSPR模型具有较强的稳健性和预测能力,同时也证明了分子静电势参数在卤代苯甲醚类化合物QSPR研究中的适用性.     

应用受体学说模型研究硝基苯类化合物的致毒机理

应用受体学说推出的定量结构活性相关(QSAR)模型研究了硝基苯类化合物的致毒机理,结果表明,硝基苯类化合物的主要致毒机理是化合物亲电中心与受体分子亲核活性中心发生反应．并引入硝基数目和位置指示变量I,分析表明,苯环上硝基的数目和位置的差别引起化合物的最低未占轨道能ELUMO的变化,即化合物亲电结合能的变化,从而影响了化合物的生物活性．     

细胞膜结合的雌激素受体的特异性标记

细胞膜结合的雌激素受体(Cell membrane-bound estrogen receptor,cmER)介导了雌激素的非基因组作用,参与了乳腺癌等诸多疾病的发生,但是作用机制研究受限于能够有效区分cmER和细胞质内ER(Estrogen receptor)的标记手段.为了实现cmER的特异性标记,首先在体外分别表达含有A1、S6和ybbR三个不同短肽的谷胱甘肽S转移酶融合蛋白,比较磷酸泛酰巯基乙胺基转移酶(Phosphopantetheinyl transferase,PPTase)-AcpS和Sfp对其的识别选择性.选取识别效率较高和特异性较好的A1短肽,将其构建到雌激素受体ERα的C端(ERα-A1),结果表明该偶联并不影响ERα的蛋白质表达及其在雌激素作用下的转录.进一步研究表明,来源于大肠杆菌的PPTase-AcpS可以以辅酶A-生物素(Coenzyme A-biotin)为底物,将生物素特异性标记到ERα-A1.这些结果为进一步研究雌激素及cmER介导的非基因组调控机制提供了新的方法.     

简析分子对接模拟中雌激素受体的柔性

根据刚性雌激素受体模型的原位和交叉对接的情况,探讨了配体诱导的受体结构差异或晶体本身的缺陷,导致模拟产生偏差的原因;总结了受体结构和残基位置对模拟的影响,并由此提出部分柔性多重受体构象(PFMRC)对接体系,考虑受体的部分柔性以达到同时提高对接精度和速率的目的.     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

Representation of the world's biophysical conditions by the global protected area network

Protected areas (PAs) are often implemented without consideration of already existing PAs, which is likely to cause an overrepresentation of certain biophysical conditions. We assessed the representativeness of the current PA network with regard to the world's biophysical conditions to highlight which conditions are underprotected and where these conditions are located. We overlaid terrestrial and marine PAs with information on biophysical conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and elevation) and then quantified the percentage of area covered by the PA network. For 1 variable at a time in the terrestrial realm, high temperature, low precipitation, and medium and very high elevation were underrepresented. For the marine realm, low and medium sea surface temperature (SST), medium and high sea surface salinity (SSS), and the deep sea were underrepresented. Overall, protection was evenly distributed for elevation across the terrestrial realm and SST across the marine realm. For 2 variables at a time, cold and very dry terrestrial environments had mostly low protection, which was also the case for low SST and low and medium SSS across most depths for marine environments. Low protection occurred mostly in the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula for the terrestrial realm and along the Tropic of Capricorn and toward the poles for the marine realm. Although biodiversity measures are of prime importance for the design of PA networks, highlighting biophysical gaps in current PAs adds a frequently overlooked perspective. These gaps may weaken the potential of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Thus, our results may provide useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to establish a more comprehensive global PA network.     

Quantitative composition of the defensive secretion ofBledius species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) is adapted to naturally occurring predators

Summary The adaptation of defensive secretions to their target organisms was examined for the abdominal gland secretions ofBledius furcatus, B. spectabilis andB. arenarius. Therefore the target organisms of the secretion of theseBledius species (i.e. their predators) had to be identified. At the collection sites examined these were the earwigLabidura riparia, the antCataglyphis bicolor, the flyLispe candicans, different carabids of the generaPogonus, Dichirotrichus, Dyschirius, Bembidion andCalathus and the wading birdsHaematopus ostralegus andCalidris alba. The secretion of the abdominal glands contains the toxin ptoluquinone dissolved in either-dodecalactone and 1-undecene (B. furcatus andB. spectabilis) or in octanoic acid and octyloctanoate (B. arenarius). The ratio of these solvents is species-specific. Application experiments using some of the natural insect predators (L. riparia, C. bicolor, Pogonus, Di. gustavii, Dyschirius) revealed that these solvent ratios provided a more effective deterrent than other possible ratios. Thus by combining the solvents in certain ratios, the capability of cuticular penetration and therefore the effectiveness of the defensive secretions are adapted to their natural targets.     

A palaeo-hydrogeological model for arsenic contamination in southern and south-east Asia

An argument is presented in which areas of natural arsenic contamination of modern groundwaters throughout Asia have a common origin. Arsenic originally accumulated in oceanic ferro-manganoan sediments of the eastern Palaeo-Tethys. This was further concentrated through oceanic crustal extinction in what later became the south-east Chinese accreted mineralised terrain. Proto-Himalayan uplift of this area created the palaeo-drainage systems of the Ganges – Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Mekong, and Red Rivers, with consequent headwater erosion of arsenic-rich sediments. Their downstream deposition as immature and easily redistributed Neogene sandstones, silts, and iron-rich clays has created secondary and tertiary reservoirs of adsorbed and authigenic arsenic, from which the current arsenic-rich groundwaters have evolved. Considering river basins within the above palaeo-hydrogeological framework provides a basis for assessing the risk of arsenic in groundwater basins of south and south-eastern Asia.     

Democracy versus development: New urban debates

The politics of development includes subtexts of choice, as underpinned by community consensus (or lack of it), against the larger backdrop of a liberal democracy, with its intricate power structures that influence the choice of concepts and often lead to complicity rather than consent. A dilemma exists between the understanding of field-level practitioners and that of academics, whose understandings of progress differ. Progress can (and often does) imply long-term change across generations whereas development is often more a matter of crisis management and delivering tangible results to end-users. This makes it a bone of contention across political systems, irrespective of local or global dynamics. Development can emerge as a tool to be wielded for power and further political mileage at the expense of progress. Progress cannot be studied as a counterpoint to development as the sense of history is often missing in development interventions. Development tends to be piecemeal as its very logic often stems from the rationale of power. This is not to suggest, however, that development is only about politics; it is definitely more than the politics of everyday life and involves all of civil society that requires its critical and immediate attention. In this sense, it has become a priority for politicians with an underlying agenda designed to out-manouevre dissent and all statements of protest.     

A framework to measure the wildness of managed large vertebrate populations

As landscapes continue to fall under human influence through habitat loss and fragmentation, fencing is increasingly being used to mitigate anthropogenic threats and enhance the commercial value of wildlife. Subsequent intensification of management potentially erodes wildness by disembodying populations from landscape-level processes, thereby disconnecting species from natural selection. Tools are needed to measure the degree to which populations of large vertebrate species in formally protected and privately owned wildlife areas are self-sustaining and free to adapt. We devised a framework to measure such wildness based on 6 attributes relating to the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of vertebrates (space, disease and parasite resistance, exposure to predation, exposure to limitations and fluctuations of food and water supply, and reproduction). For each attribute, we set empirical, species-specific thresholds between 5 wildness states based on quantifiable management interventions. We analysed data from 205 private wildlife properties with management objectives spanning ecotourism to consumptive utilization to test the framework on 6 herbivore species representing a range of conservation statuses and commercial values. Wildness scores among species differed significantly, and the proportion of populations identified as wild ranged from 12% to 84%, which indicates the tool detected site-scale differences both among populations of different species and populations of the same species under different management regimes. By quantifying wildness, this framework provides practitioners with standardized measurement units that link biodiversity with the sustainable use of wildlife. Applications include informing species management plans at local scales; standardizing the inclusion of managed populations in red-list assessments; and providing a platform for certification and regulation of wildlife-based economies. Applying this framework may help embed wildness as a normative value in policy and mitigate the shifting baseline of what it means to truly conserve a species.     

Cost‐effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty

How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well‐developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one‐time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost‐effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost‐effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost‐effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost‐effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost‐effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost‐effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost‐effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost‐effective conservation under uncertainty.     

Sexual Predators,Energy Development,and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract: In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies—recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)—differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in‐migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.     

Comparison of the insecticidal effects of water extracted and intact aromatic plants onAcanthoscelides obtectus,a bruchid beetle pest of kidney beans

Summary Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) is one of the most damaging pests of kidney beans,Phaseolus vulgaris L. worldwide. However, aromatic plants from the families Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Poaceae can protect kidney beans by direct or delayed insecticidal effect, through increased adult mortality and inhibition of beetle reproduction (both oviposition and adult emergence). The efficiency of hydrodistillated and intact plants fromThymus vulgaris andT. serpyllum, Mentha piperata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Satureia hortensis, Eucalyptus globulus, Laurus nobilis, Origanum vulgare, andCymbopogon nardus was compared. For both extracts,Origanum vulgare had the best effect. The insecticidal effect was induced by more than the essential oils because no significant difference was noticed between distilled and intact plants extract. Inhibition of reproduction was particularly important. These results suggest that lipidic as well as non lipidic, allelochemicals, such as phenolics, or non-protein amino-acids, or flavonoids may be involved in the toxicity of aromatic plants to this beetle.