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A new type of multifunctional quantum dot (QD)-polypeptide hybrid nanogel with targeted imaging and drug delivery properties has been developed by metal-affinity driven self-assembly between artificial polypeptides and CdSe-ZnS core-shell QDs. On the surface of QDs, a tunable sandwich-like microstructure consisting of two hydrophobic layers and one hydrophilic layer between them was verified by capillary electrophoresis, transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering measurements. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs can be simultaneously loaded in a QD-polypeptide nanogel. In vitro drug release of drug-loaded QD-polypeptide nanogels varies strongly with temperature, pH, and competitors. A drug-loaded QD-polypeptide nanogel with an arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) motif exhibited efficient receptor-mediated endocytosis in αvβ3 overexpressing HeLa cells but not in the control MCF-7 cells as analyzed by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. In contrast, non-targeted QD-polypeptide nanogels revealed minimal binding and uptake in HeLa cells. Compared with the original QDs, the QD-polypeptide nanogels showed lower in vitro cytotoxicity for both HeLa cells and NIH 3T3 cells. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of the targeted QD-polypeptide nanogel was lower for normal NIH 3T3 cells than that for HeLa cancer cells. These results demonstrate that the integration of imaging and drug delivery functions in a single QD-polypeptide nanogel has the potential for application in cancer diagnosis, imaging, and therapy.

Flesh quality, muscle antioxidant status and related signalling molecule expressions were investigated in young grass carp fed six levels of tryptophan (Trp) for 8 weeks. The results indicated that fish fed 0.7 (deficiency) and 6.1g Trp g/kg (excess) diets exhibited lower muscle water-holding capacity, tenderness, cathepsin activity, protein levels, lipids and collagen contents. Optimal Trp reversed these negative effects, which were related to enhanced glutathione (GSH) content and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities regulated at gene transcription levels, rather than to superoxide dismutase (SOD) or catalase (CAT). The expression of signalling molecules [Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1, target of rapamycin (TOR) and ribosomal S6 protein kinase 1] involved in the NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway revealed a potential method of Trp-enhanced antioxidant defence. Collectively, the present study indicated that appropriate Trp levels improved flesh quality partly related to the enhancement of antioxidant ability through Nrf2 and TOR signalling.

An actinomycete strain was isolated from a soil sample collected from a secondary forest at Yongsheng of Yunnan province, China. The isolate, YIM 31634T, was identified by a polyphasic approach. The 16S rDNA sequence analysis showed that the strain YIM 31634T belongs to the genus Streptomyces, with closest similarity to Streptomyces olivochromogenes DSM 40451T (97.66% similarity). Sequence similarities between strain YIM 31634T and other Streptomyces species in the same subclade ranged from 97.59% (with Streptomyces resistomycificus DSM 40133T) to 97.22% (with Streptomyces mirabilis ATCC 27447T). Key phenotypic characteristics as well as chemotaxonomic features of the actinomyces were congruent with the description of the genus Streptomyces. On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses, strain YIM31634T was recognized as a new species of the genus Streptomyces for which the name Streptomyces roseoalbus sp. nov. is proposed. The strain YIM 31634T has been deposited in the Chinese Center of Type Culture Collection as strain CCTCC M 203016T and in the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen (DSM 41833T).

The present research evaluated the effects of dietary tryptophan (Trp) on growth performance, intestinal mucosa] immune, barrier function and antioxidant capacity and gene expression of young grass carp (Ctenophatyngodon idella). Fish were fed six different experimental diets containing graded levels of Trp at 0.7(control), 1.7, 3.1, 4.0, 52 and 6.1 g kg(-1) diet for 8 weeks. The results showed that Trp supplementation significantly enhanced the percent weight gain (PWG), feed intake and feed efficiency (P < 0.05), and decreased the plasma ammonia content (PAC) (P < 0.05). After the 8-week feeding trail, an environmental copper exposure trail was conducted for 4 days. Results from the copper exposure trail showed that dietary Trp enhanced the lysozyme, acid phosphatase activities and complement 3 contents in the intestine of young grass carp (P < 0.05). In addition, Trp supplementation increased the copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and glutathione contents (P < 0.05), and decreased the protein carbonyl and malondialdehyde contents (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the relative gene expression levels of interleukin 10, transforming growth factor-beta 1, occludin, zonula occludens 1, claudin-b, -c, and 3, SOD1, GPx and NF-E2-related factor 2 in the intestine were significantly up-regulated with increasing of dietary Trp up to a certain level (P < 0.05). Conversely, the mRNA levels of tumor necrosis factor a, interleukin 8, target of rapamycin, Kelch-like-ECH-associated protein 1, claudin-12 and -15a in the intestine were significantly down-regulated by Trp (P < 0.05). Collectively, appropriate dietary Trp level improves fish growth, intestinal immune response, barrier function and antioxidant status, and regulated the mRNA levels of related signal molecules of young grass carp. Based on the quadratic regression analysis of the PWG and PAC, the dietary Trp requirement of young grass carp (287-699 g) was estimated to be 3.81 g kg(-1) diet (12.7 g kg(-1) protein) and 3.89 g kg(-1) diet (13.0 g kg(-1) protein), respectively. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction: Demetrea Nicole Farris and Dudley L. Poston, Jr., "Family Issues in Taiwan and China" .- I. The Family in Taiwan and China: 1. Chien-Liang Chen, "Models of Resource Distribution in the Family in Taiwan".- 2. Kuang-Hui Yeh, "Filial Piety and the Autonomous Development of Adolescents in the Taiwanese Family".- 3. Te-mu Wang and Hua-chin Ho, "Family Poverty in Taiwan".- 4. Edward Jow-Ching Tu and Jianping Wang, "Patterns and Changes in Household Structure in Hong Kong".- II. Issues of Marriage, the Family and Fertility in Taiwan and China: 5. Wen Shan Yang and Pei Chieh Yen. "Single and Happier?: A Comparative Study of Marital Status, Socioeconomic Security and Wellbeing of Women in Hong Kong and Taiwan".- 6. Ginny Garcia, Heather Terrell Kincannon, Dudley L. Poston, Jr., and Carol S. Walther, "Patterns of Sexual Activity in China and the United States".- 7. Wen Shan Yang and Ying-ying Tiffany Liu, "Gender Imbalances and the Twisted Marriage Market in Taiwan".- 8. Hsiang-Ming Kung, "Like Mother, Like Daughter: The Effect of Mothers' Attitudes on the Way Their Daughters Interact with Their Mothers-in-law".- 9. Li Zhang, Dudley L. Poston, Jr., and Chiung-Fang Chang, "Male and Female Fertility in Taiwan".- III. Children and the Family in East Asia and in Western Countries: Comparative Studies: 10. Feinian Chen, "The Dynamics of Grandparents Caring for Children in China".- 11. Cathy Ruey-Ling Chu, "Family Values and Parent-Child Interaction in Taiwan".- 12. Cherng-Tay Hsueh, "Diversity among Families in Contemporary Taiwan: Old Trunks or New Twigs?".- 13. Lang-Wen Huang, "Adolescent Development in Taiwan".- 14. Dudley L. Poston, Jr., Hosik Min, and Sherry L. McKibben, "Son Preference and Fertility in China, South Korea, and the United States".- 15. Alfred Ko-wei Hu, "Determinants of Intergenerational Support in the Newly Industrialized Societies: The Case of Taiwan" .- IV. The Family and the Future in Taiwan: 16. Dudley L. Poston, Jr. and Li Zhang, "Taiwan's Demographic Destiny: Marriage Market and Aged Dependency Implications for the 21st Century".- About the Authors.- Name Index.- Subject Index.