Flowering, the floral transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth, is induced by diverse endogenous and exogenous cues, such as photoperiod, temperature, hormones and age. Precise flowering time is critical to plant growth and evolution of species. The numerous renewal molecular and genetic results have revealed five flowering time pathways, including classical photoperiod pathway, vernalization pathway, autonomous pathway, gibberellins (GA) pathway and newly identified age pathway. These pathways take on relatively independent role, and involve extensive crosstalks and feedback loops. This review describes the complicated regulatory network of this floral transition to understand the molecular mechanism of flowering and provide references for further research in more plants.
Arabidopsis ; physiology ; Flowers ; physiology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Gene Regulatory Networks

OBJECTIVE：To observe effect of L-NAME on apoptosis in the gerbil hippocampus after recirculation following ischemia.METHOD：Bilateral occlusion of common carotid arteries and TUNEL stain methods in gerbitil hippocampal tissue slice were used.RESULTS：L-NAME inhibited apoptosis in the CA1 subfield.CONCLUSION:Endogenous NO mediated apoptosis is inhibited by the L-NAME.

Objective To explore the effects of neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampal CA 1 region by the selective nitric oxide synthase(NOS) inhibitor, 7 nitroindazole (7 NI).Methods 72 postnatal 7 day old Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups.(1)Sham operation group:12 rats were cut in their neck centre without ligature in common carotid artery;(2)Obersevertion group(7 NI group):the abdominal cavity of 30 rats were injected intraperitoneally into 7 NI (25 mg/kg) after anoxic ischemic damaged models were made;(3)The control group(the normal saline):30 rats were injected intraperitoneally into the normal saline the same volume after HIBD.The sham operative group was later than the operative one.The rats in the observation group and the control one by killed later,they were cut heads and brains in 48h.and were detected by HE and TUNEL stainning,the numbers of cerebral apoptosis were detected under the lightmicroscope.Results Typal apoptotic cells in the hippocampal CA 1 region in the control group were detected by HE stainning. They showed cell pyknosis,cytoplasm deep stain,nucleus concentration,fragment,karyoplasm unclear,apoptosis corpuscle was formed;in 7 NI group the above apoptosis decresed significantly;There was significant difference between Group 2 and Group 3(TUNEL positive apoptotic cells in Group 2)( P

Objective To investigate the bacteriostatic effect of starch-based alkyl poly glycoside(APG).Methods The nutrient broth dilution method was used to investigate the inhibiting effect of C8-10,C12 and pilot product C12 APG to the E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus.Results Determination of antibacterial fluid absorption was performed after 24 h-reaction.The MIC of C12,pilot product C12 and C8-10 were 0.03125,0.25 and 0.0156 g/ml for the E.coli;and were 0.062 5,0.25 and 0.062 5 g/ml for Staphylococcus aureus.Based on bacterial culture counts,at the APG concentration of MIC or higher than the MIC,the inhibitory rate of bacteria was more than 99%,the bacteriostatic effect was accorded with the absorbance.Conclusion Starch-based APG may have some antibacterial effects.

The purpose of the present work is to observe cGMP positive cells after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in the gerbil hip-pocampus. Immunofluorescent methods were used in gerbil hippocampal tissue slices. The results showed that after cerebral is-chemia cGMP synthesis in the CAi-a subfields was increased, cGMP positive cells were distributed mainly in CA1 subfield. Mostof cGMP positive cells were astrocytes. The number of small round cGMP positive cells were increased after recirculation follow-ing ischemia in the dentate gyrus. These results indicate that after cerebral ischemia cGMP synthesis was increased in the CA1-asubfield, It is possible that astrocytes play an important role in the regulation of metabolism in the early stage after ischemia-reperfusion.

Glycosyltransferases (GTs) catalyze the transfer of a sugar residue of an activated sugar donor to an acceptor molecule. Many families 1 GTs utilize an uridine diphosphate (UDP) activated sugar as donor in the glycosylation reaction, and most of these belong to a group of GTs referred to as the UGTs. The relationship between the degree of amino acid sequence identity and substrate specificity of the plant UGTs is highly complicated, and the prediction of substrate specificity based on phylogenetic analyses need to be improved by more biochemical characterization. This review summarizes the three dimensional structures of plant UGTs published in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), including the detailed substrate interactions with the sugar and receptor binding pockets and mutational analyses of some critical amino acids. It will be helpful for biochemical characterization the substrate specificity of the individual UGT, and lay the foundation for the enzymatic and genetic manipulation of plant UGTs in the future.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Glycosylation ; Glycosyltransferases ; chemistry ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; chemistry ; Plants ; enzymology ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Substrate Specificity ; Uridine Diphosphate ; chemistry

Objective To explore the effect of protein kinase C inhibitor on the level of phosphralated extracellular regulated protein kinases in the spinal trigeminal nucleus of migraine model rats.Methods Healthy adult male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups:normal group (group C),sham operation group (group C),migraine model group(group M),and H-7group(H-7group),with 18 rats in each group.Dural blood flow and the extracellular discharge frequency in the spinal trigeminal nucleus was recorded.ERK1/2 phosphorylation was tested.Results (1) Dural blood flow:compared with group C((3.8± 1.0)％),the dural blood flow in M group ((78.0±4.2) ％)increased obviously(P＜0.01) ; compared with M group((78.0±4.2)％),the dural blood flow in H-7 group((-24.8±4.9) ％) decreased obviously(P＜0.01).(2) The percentage of extracellular discharge frequency change:two hours after treatment,the percentage of extracellula discharge frequency change in group M ((325.9 ±47.3)％)was higher than that in group C((107.3±16.4)％).The percentage of discharge frequency change in group H-7((136.0±26.5)％) was lower than that in group M((325.9±47.3)％).There was no significant difference in the percentage of discharge frequency change between group H-7((136.0±26.5) ％) and group C((107.3 ± 16.4)％).(2) ERK1/2 phosphorylation:the ERK1/2 phosphorylation in group M was higher than that in group C.The ERK1/2 phosphorylation in group H-7 was lower than than that in group C and group M.Conclusion ERK1/2 is a downstream PKC signal path and PKC may have indirect activation of ERK1/2.

Objective This study investigates the protective effect of bicyclol on liver function in patients after liver resection.Methods One hundred and twenty patients undergoing liver resection with Pringle's maneuver were randomly divided into groups A,B,and C,and given bicyclol (50 mg),diammonium glycyrrhizinate (150 mg),and silybum marianum (77 mg),respectively.The medication was orally given preoperatively for 5 days and postoperatively for days 3 to 7.The fasting serum ALT,AST,TB,ALP,and PAB levels were determined before operation and on days 1,3,5,and 7 after operation.Results ALT levels in the A group were significantly lower than those in the B and C group on post operative days 1,3,5,and 7 (P＜0.01).On postoperative day 7,the ratio of serum ALT returned to normal was significantly higher than the B and C group ratios (P＜0.05).Conclusion Therefore,oral bicyclol given before and after liver resection can significantly inhibit the rapid increase and promote the normalization of serum ALT levels.

Objective To investigate the significance of sonographic patterns of thyroid calcification in diagnosis of thyroid nodule.Methods 235 patients with 355 thyroid nodules were retrospectively analyzed.Nodule calcification size,distribution and pattern were observed.Results The incidence of calcification in benign and malignant nodules was 30.3％ (89/294)and 73.7％ (45/61) respectively.The difference had statistical significance(x2 =24.3,P ＜0.01).The rate of microcalcification in cancer was 47.5％ (29/61),higher than that in benign one 3.1％ (9/294)(x2 =99.1,P ＜ 0.01).Coarse calcification in benign nodules and malignant lesion was 27.2％ (80/294)and 26.2％ (16/61)respectively.The difference had no statistical significance(x2 =0.42,P ＞0.05).Conclusions Microcalcification of thyroid nodules is a specific index for thyroid carcinoma.Any type of sonographically detected calcification represents risk of malignancy.Not only microcalcification,these cases should raise the suspicion of malignancy in coarse calcification,especially involving a solitary nodule and irregular shape.

ObjectiveTo compare the performance of color Doppler utrasonography (CDUS) alone,magnetic resonance imagine (MRI) alone, and the combination of the two in the diagnosis of thyroid carcinona (TC). MethodsCDUS and MRI results of 54 focuses of carcinoma in 45 cases diagnosed as TC by postoperative pathological results were reviewed. The sensitivity of CDUS, MRI, and the combination of the two in the diagnosis of TC was compared. ResultsThe sensitivity of CDUS and MRI was 77.78％ (42/54)and 81.48％(44/54) respectively. The difference had no statistical significance (P ＞ 0.05 ). The specificity of CDUS and MRI was 88.17％ and 92.47％ respectively, the positive predictive value was 79.25％ and 86.27％ respectively,and the negative predictive value was 87.23％ and 89.58％ respectively. The sensitivity of the combination of CDUS and MRI was 94.44％ (51/54). The difference between the combination and CDUS or MRI alone had statistical significance( P ＜0.05). ConclusionsCDUS has higher detection rate than MRI in microcalcification of TC focus. However, MRI can show more clearly of the peripheral invasion and cervical lymph node metastasis.The combination of the two can improve the accuracy of TC diagnosis.