[Acid Mine Wasteland Reclamation by Buchen as a Potential Pioneer Plant].

Ecological reclamation is the major method for the revegetation of acid mine wasteland worldwide. In this study the pH, fertility characteristics, and heavy metal content of soils from Laili Mountain mine wasteland were analyzed. The research also studied the morphological characteristics and the heavy metal in Buchen as well as its resistance to acid, adaptability to soil fertility in abandoned land, and tolerance to heavy metal pollution (e.

[Novel methods to detect cytokines by enzyme-linked oligonucleotide assay].

The development of the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) process has made it possible to isolate oligonucleotide sequences with the capacity of recognizing virtually any class of target molecules with high affinity and specificity. These oligonucleotide sequences, referred to as "aptamers", are useful as a class of molecules that rival antibodies in diagnostic applications. Aptamers are different from antibodies, yet they mimic properties of antibodies in a variety of diagnostic formats.

[Screening and characterization of DNA aptamers with hTNF-alpha binding and neutralizing activity].

Human tumor necrosis factor alpha (hTNF-alpha) is one of the most important inflammatory cytokines that acts as a mediator in inflammatory and immune response and plays a key role in host defense against infection. The over expression of hTNF-alpha is associated with serious consequences, such as shock, hypotension, thrombus, septicemia and even death. It has been implicated in many autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, chronic heart failure and septic shock.

[Construction, expression and bioactivity characterization of targeting toxin DT-VEGF].

Tumor rapid growth depends on neovascularization. Vascular endothelial growth factor, the main mediator during the occurrence and formation of vascularization, has specific receptors whose expression rate shows difference of orders of magnitude between tumor and the normal tissue, so it can be used to transport toxin molecules to the proliferative tumor endothelial and kill cancer cells. In our experiment, we constructed fusion protein DT-VEGF by linking diphtheria toxin's forward 389 amino acids's gene and VEGF165 via a linker.

[Cytokine aptamers as therapeutic and diagnostic agents].

Aptamers are oligonucleotides derived from an in vitro evolution process called SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment). Aptamers specially binding to targets could recognize and inhibit the function of targets. Using this method, many powerful antagonists of cytokines have been found.