Fostering Children's Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction Through Play:A Case Study of LEGO and Minecraft

This article focuses on children's participation in disaster risk reduction.It draws on a 2018 study done in New Zealand with 33 school children who conducted p...     

小鼠皮肤超氧化物歧化酶活性与枸杞多糖的干预

目的:观察枸杞多糖对皮肤胶原代谢和自由基产生的影响,探讨其抗皮肤衰老的作用。方法:实验于2005-06/2006-05在广东医学院整形外科研究所完成。①实验材料:清洁级昆明小鼠60只,月龄2个月,体质量16～24g,雌雄各半。②实验分组:将小鼠随机分为正常对照组、衰老模型组和抗衰老模型组,每组20只。③实验干预:模型组每日用D-半乳糖溶液皮下注射制造衰老模型,用量和时间为80mg/(kg·d)7d,120mg/(kg·d)14d,140mg/(kg·d)14d,180mg/(kg·d)7d。正常对照组每日注射同体积的生理盐水。抗衰老模型组在注射D-半乳糖期间以枸杞多糖灌胃,剂量为20mg/(kg·d),正常对照组和衰老组则以同体积的生理盐水代之灌胃。④实验评估:42d后切取小鼠颈背部皮肤,测定超氧化物歧化酶活力、羟脯氨酸和丙二醛含量。结果:56只小鼠进入结果分析(4只死亡)。①小鼠皮肤超氧化物歧化酶活力:与正常对照组相比,衰老组和抗衰老组小鼠皮肤超氧化物歧化酶活力降低,差异有显著性意义(P<0.01);抗衰老组与衰老模型组比较,超氧化物歧化酶活力增加,差异有显著性意义(P<0.01)。②与正常对照组相比,衰老组和抗衰老组小鼠皮肤羟脯氨酸和丙二醛含量增加,差异有显著性意义(P<0.01);抗衰老组与衰老组比较,羟脯氨酸和丙二醛含量均降低,差异有显著性意义(P<0.01)。结论:枸杞多糖改善皮肤老化的作用与提高小鼠皮肤超氧化物歧化酶活力,降低羟脯氨酸、丙二醛含量,影响胶原代谢有关。     

Use of miRNA Response Sequences to Block Off-target Replication and Increase the Safety of an Unattenuated,Glioblastoma-targeted Oncolytic HSV

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive brain cancer for which there is no effective treatment. Oncolytic HSV vectors (oHSVs) are attenuated lytic viruses that have shown promise in the treatment of human GBM models in animals, but their efficacy in early phase patient trials has been limited. Instead of attenuating the virus with mutations in virulence genes, we engineered four copies of the recognition sequence for miR-124 into the 3′UTR of the essential ICP4 gene to protect healthy tissue against lytic virus replication; miR-124 is expressed in neurons but not in glioblastoma cells. Following intracranial inoculation into nude mice, the miR-124-sensitive vector failed to replicate or show overt signs of pathogenesis. To address the concern that this safety feature may reduce oncolytic activity, we inserted the miR-124 response elements into an unattenuated, human receptor (EGFR/EGFRvIII)-specific HSV vector. We found that miR-124 sensitivity did not cause a loss of treatment efficiency in an orthotopic model of primary human GBM in nude mice. These results demonstrate that engineered miR-124 responsiveness can eliminate off-target replication by unattenuated oHSV without compromising oncolytic activity, thereby providing increased safety.     

The use of 7-amino actinomycin D in identifying apoptosis: simplicity of use and broad spectrum of application compared with other techniques

The detection and quantitation of apoptotic cells is becoming increasingly important in the investigation of the role of apoptosis in cellular proliferation and differentiation. The pathogenesis of hematologic disorders such as aplastic anemia and the development of neoplasia are believed to involve dysregulation of apoptosis. To quantitate accurately the proportion of apoptosis cells within different cell types of a heterogeneous cell population such as blood or bone marrow, a method is required that combines the analysis of large numbers of cells with concurrent immunophenotyping of cell surface antigens. In this study, we have evaluated such a method using the fluorescent DNA binding agent, 7-amino actinomycin D (7AAD), to stain three diverse human cell lines, induced to undergo apoptosis by three different stimuli. Flow cytometric analysis defines three populations on the basis of 7AAD fluorescence and forward light scatter. We have shown by cell sorting and subsequent morphological assessment and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling that the populations defined by 7AAD represent live, apoptotic, and late-apoptotic/dead cells. This method is quick, simple, reproducible, and cheap and will be a valuable tool in the investigation of the role of apoptosis in normal physiology and in disease states.     

白藜芦醇对一次性力竭游泳大鼠肝脏组织保护作用的量效关系

目的:观察白藜芦醇对一次性力竭游泳大鼠肝脏组织的作用及发挥作用的最佳口服剂量。方法:实验于2006-05/07在成都体育学院运动医学系动物实验室完成。①实验分组:选取雄性SD大鼠70只,随机分为7组,每组10只,分别为安静对照组,运动对照组,运动 15mg/kg白藜芦醇组,运动 50mg/kg白藜芦醇组,运动 100mg/kg白藜芦醇组,运动 200mg/kg白藜芦醇组,运动 300mg/kg白藜芦醇组。②实验干预:不同剂量白藜芦醇组每天灌胃15,50,100,200,300mg/kg白藜芦醇,安静对照组和运动对照组分别灌胃相同体积的溶媒(二甲亚砜 生理盐水),连续5周。末次给予实验用样品1h后,各运动组每只鼠尾跟部负荷3%体质量铅皮,置于水深50cm、水温(31±1)℃游泳槽中游泳。游泳力竭后即刻,股动脉取血并迅速取出肝组织。③指标检测:赖氏比色法测定血清中谷丙转氨酶活性;邻苯三酚自氧化法测定肝组织超氧化物歧化酶活性;硫代巴比妥酸法测定肝组织丙二醛含量。结果:纳入动物70只,均进入结果分析。①血清谷丙转氨酶活性和肝组织中丙二醛含量:运动对照组显著高于安静对照组,不同剂量白藜芦醇组低于运动对照组(P<0.05或P<0.01)。运动 100,200,300mg/kg白藜芦醇组低于运动 15,50mg/kg白藜芦醇组[谷丙转氨酶活性:(972.36±121.86),(944.36±105.35),(888.34±88.68),(1773.52±89.35),(1377.78±27.01)nkat/L,P<0.01;丙二醛含量:(7.90±2.56),(7.69±3.69),(7.13±2.62),(19.90±2.21),(12.16±1.78)μmol/g,P<0.05]。100,200,300mg/kg白藜芦醇组间差异无显著性。②肝脏组织中超氧化物歧化酶活性:运动对照组显著低于安静对照组,不同剂量白藜芦醇组高于运动对照组(P<0.05或P<0.01)。运动 100,200,300mg/kg白藜芦醇组高于15,50mg/kg白藜芦醇组[(2325.80±163.37),(2379.14±121.86),(2447.16±89.18),(1096.05±120.19),(1514.64±28.17)μkat/g,P<0.01]。结论:①白藜芦醇对力竭性运动大鼠肝脏组织具有保护作用。②100,200,300mg/kg白藜芦醇对肝脏组织发挥保护作用效果优于15,50mg/kg,建议使用100mg/kg白藜芦醇就能达到理想效果。     

Structural requirements of platelet chemokines for neutrophil activation

Using recombinantly expressed proteins and synthetic peptides, we examined the structural/functional features of the platelet chemokines, neutrophil-activating peptide-2 (NAP-2) and platelet factor 4 (PF4); that were important in their activation of neutrophils. Previous studies with the chemokine interleukin-8 (IL-8) had shown that the N- terminal region preceding the first cysteine residue was critical in defining neutrophil-activating properties. We examined whether NAP-2 and PF4 had similar structural requirements. In the Ale-glu-leu-arg (AELR) N-terminus of NAP-2, substitution of E or R abolished Ca2+ mobilization and elastase secretion. Unlike the parent molecule PF4, AELR/PF4, the hybrid formed by replacing the N-terminal sequence of PF4 before the first cysteine residue with the homologous sequence of NAP- 2, stimulated Ca2+ mobilization and elastase secretion. Furthermore, the effect of amino acid substitutions in the ELR motif differed from those seen with NAP-2 in that conserved substitutions of E or R in NAP- 2 abolished activity, but only reduced neutrophil activation in the hybrid. These studies show that just as with IL-8, the N-termini of NAP- 2 and PF4 are critical for high-level neutrophil-activating function. Desensitization studies provided information on receptor binding. NAP- 2, which binds almost exclusively to the type 2 IL-8 receptor (IL-8R), did not desensitize neutrophils to activation by IL-8 because IL-8 could bind to and activate via both type 1 and 2 IL-8R. AELR/PF4 appears to bind to both types of receptors because it desensitized neutrophils to NAP-2 activation; but was not desensitized by NAP-2, and because it desensitized to and was desensitized by IL-8. Thus, although NAP-2 and AELR/PF4 share approximately 60% amino acid homology, they have different receptor affinities. Studies were performed to define the role of the C-termini of these platelet chemokines in receptor binding. Heparin and a monoclonal antibody specific for the heparin- binding domain of PF4 both inhibited Ca2+ mobilization and elastase release, further suggesting that the C-terminus of these chemokines is important in receptor binding. Synthetic NAP-2(51-70) failed to mobilize Ca2+, whereas PF4(47-70) and PF4(58-70) induced Ca2+ mobilization and secretion of elastase at high concentrations. Pertussis toxin inhibited neutrophil activation by 40% to 50%, establishing a role for G-protein-coupled receptors such as the IL-8Rs in activation by the PF4 C-terminal peptides.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Bcl-2 and GDNF delivered by HSV-mediated gene transfer act additively to protect dopaminergic neurons from 6-OHDA-induced degeneration

Previous studies have demonstrated that either the neurotrophin glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) or the antiapoptotic peptide Bcl-2 delivered into striatum by a viral vector protects dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra in vivo from degeneration induced by the administration of the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). In this study we used recombinant, replication-incompetent, genomic herpes simplex virus-based vectors to deliver the genes coding for Bcl-2 and GDNF into rat substantia nigra (SN) 1 week prior to 6-OHDA injection into the striatum. Vector-mediated expression of either Bcl-2 or GDNF alone each resulted in a doubling in cell survival as measured by retrograde labeling with fluorogold (FG) and a 50% increase in tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-IR) neurons in the lesioned SN compared to the unlesioned side. Gene transfer of Bcl-2 and GDNF were equivalent in this effect. Coadministration of the Bcl-2-expressing vector with the GDNF-expressing vector improved the survival of lesioned SN neurons as measured by FG labeling by 33% and by the expression of TH-IR by 15%. These results suggest that the two factors delivered together act in an additive fashion to improve DA cell survival in the face of 6-OHDA toxicity.