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Objective To investigate the effect of IMPX977 on MeCP2 targeted-genes and the feasibility of IMPX977 acting as a therapeutic candidate drug for Rett syndrome by genomewide transcription profiling. Methods Rats' cortex of control group, IMPX977-treated low-dose group (10 mg/kg), and IMPX977-treated high-dose group (30 mg/kg) were collected and RNA was extracted from the tissues. Then, RNA was subjected to RNA-sequencing. Gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) were used in functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes. Results Six MeCP2 targeted-genes were identified in the low/control categories, but not in the high/control categories. Conclusion Low-dose treatment of IMPX977 (10 mg/kg) showed a positive effect on MeCP2 targeted-genes and it may serve as a drug candidate for Rett syndrome therapy with proper dosage.

Coordinated assembly of the ribosome is essential for proper translational activity in eukaryotic cells. It is therefore critical to coordinate the expression of components of ribosomal programs with the cell's nutritional status. However, coordinating expression of these components is poorly understood. Here, by combining experimental and computational approaches, we systematically identified box C/D snoRNAs in four fission yeasts and found that the expression of box C/D snoRNA and ribosomal protein (RP) genes were orchestrated by a common Homol-D box, thereby ensuring a constant balance of these two genetic components. Interestingly, such transcriptional coregulations could be observed in most Ascomycota species and were mediated by different cis-regulatory elements. Via the reservation of cis elements, changes in spatial configuration, the substitution of cis elements, and gain or loss of cis elements, the regulatory networks of box C/D snoRNAs evolved to correspond with those of the RP genes, maintaining transcriptional coregulation between box C/D snoRNAs and RP genes. Our results indicate that coregulation via common cis elements is an important mechanism to coordinate expression of the RP and snoRNA genes, which ensures a constant balance of these two components.

Students' rating of teaching is widely used by university administrators to manage and evaluate teaching in China today. However, it is worthwhile to discuss and rethink carefully how to use this tool. Fifty students majoring in seven-year clinical medicine were asked to rate the class teaching of an integrated course for which the teaching reform involved compressed total class hours. The rating choices were very good, good, medium, and bad. A routine, simple statistical analysis was performed. Most students approved the integrated course and rated it as good. Constructive suggestions on how to improve teaching quality in the class revealed a standard normal distribution. Some students displayed the phenomenon of "comment fatigue." Several ways to use students' rating of teaching most efficiently were recommended to improve class teaching quality.

A sensitive method for the determination of ephedrine and codeine in human urine by capillary electrophoresis (CE) was described. In order to improve the sensitivity, two online concentration techniques including cation-selective exhaustive injection (CSEI) and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography (sweeping-MEKC) were used. Under the optimum conditions, the detection limits (S/N = 3) were 0.10 μg/L for ephedrine and 0.80 μg/L for codeine. This method was successfully applied to real urine sample analysis.

Considering all small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) enriched in the nucleolus, we generated a specialized cDNA library of small nuclear RNAs from Schizosaccharomyces pombe and isolated, for the first time, 20 novel box H/ACA snoRNAs. Thirteen of these were characterized as novel guides that were predicted to direct 19 pseudouridylations in 18 S and 25 S rRNAs. The remaining seven snoRNAs were considered as orphan guides that lack sequence complementarity to either rRNAs or snRNAs. We have experimentally demonstrated the function of the 10 novel snoRNAs by gene deletion in the fission yeast. The snoRNAs were shown to be dispensable for the viability of S. pombe, although an impact of snR94 depletion on yeast growth, especially at 23 degrees C, was revealed. A total of 30 pseudouridylation sites were precisely mapped in the S. pombe rRNAs, showing a distinctive pseudouridylation pattern in the budding yeast. Interestingly, the absence of pseudouridylation on U2347 in S. pombe 25 S rRNA pointed out a critical role for Psi2345 in conferring a growth advantage for yeast. In contrast to the intron-encoded box C/D sno-RNAs in yeast, all box H/ACA snoRNAs appeared to be transcribed independently from intergenic regions between two protein-coding genes, except for snR35, which was nested in an open reading frame encoding for a hypothetical protein, although expressed from the opposite strand. Remarkably, snR90 was cotranscribed with an intron-encoded box C/D snoRNA, and this is the first demonstration of a non-coding RNA gene that encodes two different types of snoRNAs by its exon and intron. A detailed comparison of the S. pombe snoRNAs, with their functional homologues in diverse organisms, suggests a mechanism by which the snoRNAs have evolved in coordination with rRNAs to preserve the post-transcriptional modification sites among distant eukaryotes.

By constructing and screening theSchizosaccharomyces pombe nuclear cDNA library, a novel small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNA) was identified. The novel snoRNA displays structural features typical of C/D box snoRNA family and possesses a 10-nt-long rRNA antisense element which is predicted to guide the 2′-O-methylation of the fission yeast 25S rRNA at G940. As expected, the rRNA ribose-methylation site predicted by the novel snoRNA was precisely mapped by a deoxynucleoside triphosphate concentrationdependent primer extension assay. The comparison of functional element of guide snoRNAs among eukaryotes reveals that the novel snoRNA is a partial counterpart of the budding yeast snR60 and was termed snR60-II. snR60-II gene nested in the intron of a non-coding RNA gene with an unknown function, which is the first example of a yeast snoRNA encoded in an intron of a non-coding RNA gene. Furthermore, a number of yeast snR60 homologues were also identified from other fungi and fly. Our results reveal that snR60 exhibits diverse genomic organization in eukaryotes, implying the high mobility of snR60 gene in the course of evolution.

Peroxisomes are essential for organisms' development and physiology. This fact is underscored by the lethality of a group of genetic disorders collectively known as the peroxisome biogenesis disorders (PBDs), such as Zellweger syndrome, in which peroxisomes fail to assemble properly. Defining the molecular bases of the PBDs has been the impetus behind the identification of the genes controlling peroxisome assembly, the PEX genes, from various modern organisms. Here as a original strain, Yarrowia lipolytica E122 was mutated by diethyl sulfate (DES) treatment and two mutants including temperature sensitive one were obtained. Compared to the initial strain, the two mutants showed more diffuse pattern of fluorescence characteristic of a cytosolic localization in immunofluorescence analysis, and showed no morphologically recognizable peroxisomes in electron micrographs. The two mutants arose from new gene mutation characterized by transformation and will be very useful in identification of new gene controlling peroxisome assembly from yeast.