A Novel Uni-Acupoint Electroacupuncture Stimulation Method for Pain Relief

Electroacupuncture stimulation (EAS) has been demonstrated effective for pain relief and treating other various diseases. However, the conventional way of EAS, the bi-acupoint method, is not suitable for basis study of acupoint specificity. Moreover, its operations are inconvenient and difficult to be persevered, especially for long-term, continuous and even imperative treatments. These disadvantages motivate designs of new EAS methods. We present a novel uni-acupoint electrical stimulation method, which is applied at a single acupoint and quite meets the needs of basis study and simpler clinical application. Its pain relief effect has been evaluated by animal tests of Wistar rats. During the experiments, rats were given 30 min 2/100 Hz uni- and bi-acupoint EAS and their nociceptive thresholds before and after EAS were attained by hot-plate test. The analgesic effect was defined as the change of nociceptive threshold and used to evaluate the effectiveness of uni-acupoint EAS for pain relief. The hot-plate test results indicated that analgesic effect of uni-acupoint group was significantly higher than that of the control group and there was no significant difference of analgesic effects between uni- and bi-acupoint EAS. The results suggested that uni-acupoint method was an effective EAS method and had comparable pain relief effect with bi-acupoint method

Imaging Biological Samples with the Atomic-Force Microscope

The application of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to biological investigation is attractive for a number of reasons. Foremost among these is the ability of the AFM to image samples, even living cells, under near native conditions and at resolution equal to, or exceeding, that possible by the best light microscopes. Moreover, the ability of the AFM to manipulate samples it images provides a novel and far reaching application of this technology

A Tetrahymena thermophila G4-DNA Binding Protein with Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase Activity

G4-DNA is a four-stranded structure that is formed by guanine-rich sequences. We report here the purification and characterization of a novel G4-DNA binding protein from Tetrahymena thermophila, designated TGP2. TGP2 was found to preferentially bind to G4-DNA oligonucleotides with adjacent single-stranded domains containing phosphorylated 5‘ ends and the sequence element, 5‘-ACTG-3‘. The amino acid sequence of TGP2 has high similarity to dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLDH) from a variety of species, and TGP2 was shown to have DLDH activity. Purified DLDH from porcine heart and bovine intestinal mucosa were shown to bind specifically to G4-DNA oligonucleotides. On the basis of these results we conclude that TGP2 is DLDH in T. thermophila and suggest that the G4-DNA binding capability of TGP2/DLDH may be biologically relevant.Reprinted (adapted) with permission from A Tetrahymena thermophila G4-DNA Binding Protein with Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase Activity. Kehkooi Kee, Luming Niu, and Eric Henderson. Biochemistry 1998 37 (12), 4224-4234. DOI: 10.1021/bi9716377. Copyright 1998 American Chemical Society.</p

Atomic force microscopy of DNA-colloidal gold and DNA-protein complexes

The atomic force microscope (AFM)1 is capable of imaging and manipulating nucleic acids in solution and in air29' 13 We are developing methods for random and site-specific labeling of individual DNA molecules to facilitate manipulation of fragments excised in the AFM and for localization of specific DNA domains, such as protein binding sites and origins of replication. One successful method was to incorporate biotinylated nucleotides at random internal locations or specifically at the ends of linearized DNA molecules in vitro. Following complex formation with Snm diameter streptavidin-gold conjugates, chromatographic purification and passive adsorption of the complexes to mica, the biotinylated domains were easily localized in the AFM by virtue of the distinctive size and shape of the streptavidin-gold complex. In many cases unconjugated streptavidin (i.e., lacking gold) was also observed attached to the biotinylated DNA. A second approach to site-specific labeling of DNA for imaging in the AFM was to react DNA with restriction enzymes having sequence-specific binding properties. Like the unconjugated streptavidin-DNA complexes, these enzyme-DNA complexes were visible without attached colloidal gold. Efforts to image DNA labeled in vivo using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and anti-BrdU antibodies are ongoing. Luming Niu ; Wenling Shaiu ; James Vesenka ; Drena D. Larson ; Eric Henderson; Atomic force microscopy of DNA-colloidal gold and DNA-protein complexes. Proc. SPIE 1891 (1993); doi:10.1117/12.146706.</p

Imaging Biological Samples with the Atomic-Force Microscope

The application of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to biological investigation is attractive for a number of reasons. Foremost among these is the ability of the AFM to image samples, even living cells, under near native conditions and at resolution equal to, or exceeding, that possible by the best light microscopes. Moreover, the ability of the AFM to manipulate samples it images provides a novel and far reaching application of this technology.This is a proceeding from 51st Annual Meeting of the Microscopy Society of America (1993): 512.</p

Genetic Mapping of a Candidate Gene <i>ClIS</i> Controlling Intermittent Stripe Rind in Watermelon

Rind pattern is one of the most important appearance qualities of watermelon, and the mining of different genes controlling rind pattern can enrich the variety of consumer choices. In this study, a unique intermittent rind stripe was identified in the inbred watermelon line WT20. The WT20 was crossed with a green stripe inbred line, WCZ, to construct F2 and BC1 segregating populations and to analyze the genetic characterization of watermelon stripe. Genetic analysis showed that the intermittent stripe was a qualitative trait and controlled by a single dominant gene, ClIS. Fine mapping based on linkage analysis showed that the ClIS gene was located on the 160 Kb regions between 25.92 Mb and 26.08 Mb on watermelon chromosome 6. Furthermore, another inbred watermelon line with intermittent stripe, FG, was re-sequenced and aligned on the region of 160 Kb. Interestingly, only two SNP variants (T/C, A/T) were present in both WT20 and FG inbred lines at the same time. The two SNPs are located in 25,961,768 bp (T/C) and 25,961,773 bp (A/T) of watermelon chromosome 6, which is located in the promoter region of Cla019202. We speculate that Cla019202 is the candidate gene of ClIS which controls the intermittent stripe in watermelon. In a previous study, the candidate gene ClGS was proved to control dark green stripe in watermelon. According to the verification of the two genes ClIS and ClGS in 75 watermelon germplasm resources, we further speculate that the ClGS gene may regulate the color of watermelon stripe, while the ClIS gene regulates the continuity of watermelon stripe. The study provides a good entry point for studying the formation of watermelon rind patterns, as well as providing foundation insights into the breeding of special appearance quality in watermelon