脑源性神经营养因子对鸟类鸣唱行为的调控作用

鸟类鸣唱是一种复杂的发声行为,需要感知和运动技能学习等神经过程的参与。与人类语言学习的过程相似,鸟类鸣唱学习过程由脑中的一整套神经结构所控制,我们称之为鸣唱控制系统。研究表明,脑源性神经营养因子(brain-derived neurotrophic factor,BDNF)在鸣唱控制系统对鸣唱行为的调控中起着关键作用。目前已在BDNF对鸟类鸣唱调控作用的研究方面取得了一批重要的理论成果,主要集中在BDNF影响新生神经元募集及存活、性激素及性别二态性、鸣唱控制系统季节可塑性和鸣曲形成等科学问题。文章对BDNF与鸣唱行为调控关系研究中所取得的进展做了详细论述。     

中枢胆碱能系统投射支配鸣禽鸣唱控制系统并调控鸣唱行为

鸣禽因其独特的习得性鸣唱行为,成为了研究运动学习的理想模型。现已证实,鸣禽的鸣唱行为受前脑内的鸣唱控制系统直接调控。有证据显示,鸣唱控制系统内有胆碱能递质及其受体分布,其中发声运动核团接受来自基底前脑中枢胆碱能系统的胆碱能神经支配,其可通过胆碱能递质影响发声运动核团的神经活动,进而影响鸣唱行为。在哺乳动物中的研究证实,中枢胆碱能系统参与了对运动行为和运动学习神经过程的调控。了解中枢胆碱能系统对鸣禽鸣唱行为的调控作用,有助于更好地理解鸣禽鸣唱运动控制和鸣唱学习记忆的神经机制,并可从比较生理学的角度,为研究其它动物感觉运动和学习记忆的神经过程,乃至人类语言产生的神经过程提供重要参考。本文对迄今国内外在胆碱能递质对鸣禽发声运动核团作用受体的选择性及其对神经元活动影响的研究进展进行了综述,为揭示中枢胆碱能系统调控鸣禽鸣唱行为的神经机理提供有价值的线索。     

鸟类鸣啭学习神经回路的发育可塑性

鸟类鸣啭控制系统已成为人们研究神经系统与学习、行为和发育关系的重要模型。鸣啭系统在发育中所表现出的神经和行为明显变化的特点,为我们理解语言学习敏感期、突触联系的再分布、结构特化以及细胞死亡与神经发生提供了宝贵的信息。在许多方面,鸣禽鸟啭系统都有别于哺乳动物,这为特定理论问题的研究提供了新的途径。     

鸟类学习记忆研究进展

在学习记忆研究中,需根据不同的实验目的选用不同的实验动物和模型。鸟类在生物进化上具有独特的地位,由此决定了其在认知科学研究中的价值。现已建立了呜禽呜唱学习、鸟类空间学习及视觉分辨学习等重要实验模型,并开展了一系列的学习记忆机制研究。文章对近年来鸟类学习记忆研究的进展,从鸟类鸣唱行为、海马功能以及神经递质作用等方面做了回顾。     

综述与专论: 鸣禽模型在语言学习中承担独特的生物学角色

鸣禽鸣唱与人类语言相似，是一种复杂的发声学习行为，并受脑中一组相互联系的神经核团调控。该组核团与人类发声控制相关脑区具有一定程度的结构同源性，并可能共享某些发声学习调控机制。因此，鸣禽成为研究发声学习神经机理的重要模式动物，不仅对鸟类语言学习，也可为揭示人类语言学习的神经过程和语言障碍的治疗提供重要参考借鉴。本文基于本课题组长期坚持的研究方向，较系统地概述了国内外鸣禽鸣唱行为研究的历史、重要发现和进展，及其为相关中枢神经系统疾病治疗带来的启示。     

鸟类鸣唱的复杂性和多样性

鸣唱是一种非常重要的鸟类行为学特征。文章通过对大杜鹃Cuculus canorus、赫氏杜鹃C.horsfieldi、红喉蜂鸟Calypte anna、纵纹腹小XiaoAthene noctua、黑卷尾Dicrurus macrocercus、画眉Garrulax canorus和东方大苇莺Acrocephalus orientalis繁殖期鸣唱的频谱分析,初步总结出了鸟类鸣唱复杂性和多样性的一些特点。初步在鸟类鸣唱型、音段和音节等不同层次上总结出6种不同模式：单音节重复型,双音节重复型,单音节鸣唱型,音段序列稳定变化型,多音节序列不稳定变化型和音节音段混合序列不稳定变化型。鸣唱型模式类型的归纳总结,为鸟类物种行为多样性和鸟声复杂性与多样性研究奠定理论基础。     

白头鹎鸣唱特征的季节差异分析

许多动物的声通讯行为存在显著的季节变化,鸟类的鸣唱也是如此。雄鸟鸣唱具有宣告领域和吸引配偶的功能,在繁殖季节与非繁殖季节之间应存在一定差异,但差异如何？具体表现在哪些方面？这在很多鸟类中尚未可知。本研究以一种在秋季也有显著鸣唱行为的城市常见小型鸣禽——白头鹎（Pycnonotussinensis）为研究对象,比较其在春季（繁殖季）与秋季（非繁殖季）的鸣唱差异,并分析可能的原因。于2020至2021连续两年的春、秋季分别在武汉地区各采集了27只和30只雄性白头鹎的鸣唱录音,共测量分析春季鸣唱372个,秋季鸣唱435个。对测得的各鸣唱参数数据进行季节间比较,结果显示,白头鹎的鸣唱持续时间和鸣唱音节数存在显著季节差异,春季鸣唱的持续时间较秋季更长,鸣唱音节数更多。鸣唱的频率、能量分布等其他声学参数,以及鸣唱型出现率（反映鸣唱曲目大小）均未表现出显著季节差异。白头鹎鸣唱的时程特征相对其他鸣声特征更具季节可塑性。此外,还发现同一采样点的白头鹎春、秋两季使用相同的鸣唱型。本研究结果表明,春季白头鹎的单位时间鸣唱输出量更大,鸣唱行为更活跃,这与繁殖季节鸟类的领域性更强、为繁殖成功投入更多相一致。白头...     

武汉地区大山雀（Parus major minor）对major与minor亚种组鸣唱回放的差别反应

分析鸟类鸣声能为研究鸟类系统学和生物地理学提供重要信息。鸟类鸣声的地理变异能影响鸟类的性选择,进而导致不同地理种群间的生殖隔离,从而促进地方种群(或亚种)的分化,乃至新种的形成。在鸟类系统学研究中,鸣声回放实验是研究物种分化并衡量分类地位的一项重要研究手段。本实验以武汉地区大山雀(Parus major minor,隶属于minor亚种组)为实验对象进行鸣唱回放实验,观测其对来自欧亚大陆西部及北部各地的major亚种组和来自我国各地的minor亚种组大山雀鸣唱回放的反应,探讨实验对象能否区分来自上述两个不同亚种组的鸣唱,从而推断两亚种组之间是否存在足以导致识别障碍的鸣声分化,以致产生行为上的生殖隔离。本实验共测试了24只雄性大山雀,每个亚种组的鸣唱各回放给12只个体,通过记录不同行为反应指标来衡量每只受试个体的反应程度。统计分析结果显示,受试大山雀对major和minor亚种组鸣唱的反应有显著差异,对同为minor亚种组的鸣唱反应程度激烈,而对major亚种组鸣唱的反应微弱甚至大多无反应。由此认为,大山雀major和minor亚种组之间存在显著的鸣声分化,已达到能形成配对前生殖隔离的程度,从而一定程度上支持将大山雀拆分成不同种的说法。     

雄激素调控鸣禽鸣唱核团对鸣唱行为影响

鸣禽的鸣唱是一种习得性行为,它由脑内离散的神经核团所控制,这些核团相互关联构成鸣唱控制系统.鸣禽体内的性激素可以通过调控鸣唱系统来影响鸣唱行为.研究表明性激素中的雄激素在调节鸣唱稳定性方面发挥关键作用.雄激素可以通过调控细胞增殖、神经元电生理特性、突触传递及相关受体来影响鸣唱控制核团进而导致鸣唱行为改变.本文主要集中在雄激素对鸣禽鸣唱行为调控作用的神经机制研究进展进行论述.     

鸟类鸣唱曲目与复杂性

鸟类的鸣唱是研究性选择和动物声音通讯的良好素材,一般认为鸟类的鸣唱曲目是性选择的结果.本文综述了鸣唱曲目和鸣唱复杂性的实验和理论成果,阐述二者的相关性,曲目和复杂鸣唱产生的解剖学基础及其得以进化形成的功能性原因.曲目和鸣唱的复杂性源于鸟类发声器官特定结构的复杂性和神经系统的协调作用,鸣唱的表现形式同时受多种因子影响,可根据改变的生境进行适应性调节.曲目和多种鸣唱型存在的必要性还在于其功能的多样性,鸟类借助于多种鸣唱型之间的转换,传达了有利于繁殖的多种信息.     

A Unique Protease Cleavage Site Predicted in the Spike Protein of the Novel Pneumonia Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Potentially Related to Viral Transmissibility

正Dear Editor,In December 2019, a novel human coronavirus caused an epidemic of severe pneumonia(Coronavirus Disease 2019,COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei, China(Wu et al. 2020; Zhu et al. 2020). So far, this virus has spread to all areas of China and even to other countries. The epidemic has caused 67,102 confirmed infections with 1526 fatal cases     

Curcuminoids as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase: A receptor based pharmacophore study with distance mapping of the active site

Curcumin is the yellow pigment of turmeric that interacts irreversibly forming an adduct with thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme responsible for redox control of cell and defence against oxidative stress. Docking at both the active sites of TrxR was performed to compare the potency of three naturally occurring curcuminoids, namely curcumin, demethoxy curcumin and bis-demethoxy curcumin. Results show that active sites of TrxR occur at the junction of E and F chains. Volume and area of both cavities is predicted. It has been concluded by distance mapping of the most active conformations that Se atom of catalytic residue SeCYS498, is at a distance of 3.56 from C13 of demethoxy curcumin at the E chain active site, whereas C13 carbon atom forms adduct with Se atom of SeCys 498. We report that at least one methoxy group in curcuminoids is necessary for interation with catalytic residues of thioredoxin. Pharmacophore of both active sites of the TrxR receptor for curcumin and demethoxy curcumin molecules has been drawn and proposed for design and synthesis of most probable potent antiproliferative synthetic drugs.     

Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Hewardieae, Petrosavieae, and Tricyrteae

The young pistils in the melanthioid tribes, Hewardieae, Petrosavieae and Tricyrteae, are uniformly tricarpellate and syncarpous. They lack raphide idioblasts. All are multiovulate, with bitegmic ovules. The Petrosavieae are marked by the presence of septal glands and incomplete syncarpy. Tepals and stamens adhere to the ovary in the Hewardieae and the Petrosavieae but not in the Tricyrteae. Two vascular bundles occur in the stamens of the Hewartlieae and Tricyrtis latifolia. Ventral bundles in the upper part of the ovary of the Hewardieae are continuous with compound septal bundles and placental bundles in the lower part. Putative ventral bundles occur in the alternate position in the Tricyrteae and putative placental bundles in the opposite. position in the Petrosavieae. The dichtomously branched stigma in each carpel of the Tricyrteae is supplied by a bifurcated dorsal bundle.     

Enterovirus 71 3C proteolytically processes the histone H3 N-terminal tail during infection

Highlights
1. The N-terminal tail of histone H3 is specifically cleaved during EV71 infection.
2. Viral protease 3C is identified as a protease responsible for proteolytically processing the N-terminal H3 tail.
3. Our finding reveals a new epigenetic regulatory mechanism for Enterovirus 71 in virus-host interactions.     

Detection of EBV and HHV6 in the Brain Tissue of Patients with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis

Rasmussen’s encephalitis (RE) is a rare pediatric neurological disorder, and the exact etiology is not clear. Viral infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of RE, but conflicting results have reported. In this study, we evaluated the expression of both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpes virus (HHV) 6 antigens in brain sections from 30 patients with RE and 16 control individuals by immunohistochemistry. In the RE group, EBV and HHV6 antigens were detected in 56.7% (17/30) and 50% (15/30) of individuals, respectively. In contrast, no detectable EBV and HHV6 antigen expression was found in brain tissues of the control group. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in 20.0% (6/30) of individuals. In particular, a 4-year-old boy had a typical clinical course, including a medical history of viral encephalitis, intractable epilepsy, and hemispheric atrophy. The co-expression of EBV and HHV6 was detected in neurons and astrocytes in the brain tissue, accompanied by a high frequency of CD8⁺ T cells. Our results suggest that EBV and HHV6 infection and the activation of CD8⁺ T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of RE.     

Perinatal Vertical Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in Ruili,a Town on the Border between China and Myanmar

正Dear Editor,Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an arbovirus in the family of Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, is transmitted by the A.aegyptii or A. albopictus mosquito, and causes disease in humans characterized by fever, rash, and arthralgia (Silva and Dermody 2017; Suhrbier 2019). It was first reported in 1953 in Tanzania, and caused only a few outbreaks and sporadic cases in Africa and Asia in last century. However, in the epidemic in 2004, CHIKV acquired mutations that conferred enhanced transmission by the A. albopictus mosquito(Schuffenecker et al. 2006). Since then, it has successively caused outbreaks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, the South America, and Europe (Zeller et al. 2016).     

Development of a Novel Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

In conclusion, the novel visual RT-LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, and sensitive approach for detection of SARS-CoV-2, and it is ready for application in primary care and community hospitals or health care centers, and even patients' own houses in response to the current SARS-CoV-2 epidemic because the assay does not require sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Furthermore, it is also ready to be used in fields for screening samples from wild animals and environments to facilitate the identification of potential intermediate hosts that mediate the cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from bats to humans.