Anthropology and genetics of the caucasus peoples and the problem of the origin of the caucasoids

The electrophoretical polymorphisms of some blood proteins were studied in the Talysh population of Pirasora situated in South-East Azerbaidjan. We calculated the gene frequencies of these polymorphisms and determined the genetic distances between the Talyshes and some Iranian populations of North, Central and South Iran, Afghans, and three populations of Azerbaijan. The Talyshes are very close to Iranians of Shiraz, whereas they are distant from the Azerbaijanians. Anthropological investigations showed that the Caucasoids and Mongoloids lived in the Aragvi Basin since the Eneolithic period. This was stated by Alexeev (1974), who emphasized the mixture of the Caucasus populations from ancient times on. We calculated the genetic distances between the Caucasus populations and numerous populations of other geographic regions, considering 28 alleles of 12 loci of blood group, serum protein and red cell enzyme polymorphisms and constructed the dendrogram of these populations. The position of the Caucasus populations in the dendrogram corresponds on principle to the earlier anthropological observations. The clustering of the Caucasoid populations corresponds completely with anthropological and historical data, and supports our earlier hypothesis (Nazarova 1999) concerning the differentiation of Caucasoids, Northern Mongoloids and Amerinds from the populations, which inhabitated Asia in palaeolithic times.     

Serology and systematics of the Ebenales and the Theales

The systematic position ofthe Ebenaceae, Sapotaceae, Styracaceae, Ochnaceae, Stachyuraceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Clusiaceae and Hypericaceae has been investigated using serological comparisons of sets of antigenic determinants. The results show that the Sytracaceae and Sapotaceae are undoubtedly more closely associated with the Actinidiaeceae and Theaceae, respectively, than with each other. We found no corresponding determinants betnween antigen systems from the Ebenaceae and systems from any other family whose relations to this family have been proposed. As discovered previously, investigations of antigen systems from the Ochnaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Stachyuraceae, Clusiaceae and Hypericaceae are against the idea of a natural order “Theales” in which these families, or at least some of them, are combined with the Theaceae and Actinidiaceae. This paper completes our previous investigations which largely support a superorder Ericanae sensu Ehrendorfer and Takhtajan. We propose to include the Actinidiaceae and Theaceae in this superorder, assigning them a central position laong with the Sapotaceae and Sytracaeae on one side and the Primulales and Ericales on the other. Another most interesting finding is that there are corresponding determinants between antigen systems from the members of the Ericanae and representatives of the Polemoniaceae and Loasaceae.     

人类基因组及后基因组研究进展及其应用与开发研究现状

人类对自身基因组的研究,随着人类基因组工作草图的绘制完成和对基因功能研究的深入已加快进入了实质性、关键性的开发利用阶段。本文概述了人类基因组及后基因组的研究进展及依此开展基因治疗及基因（组）药物研制等应用开发研究的现状。     

On the structure and dynamics of the complex of the nucleosome and the linker histone

Several different models of the linker histone (LH)–nucleosome complex have been proposed, but none of them has unambiguously revealed the position and binding sites of the LH on the nucleosome. Using Brownian dynamics-based docking together with normal mode analysis of the nucleosome to account for the flexibility of two flanking 10 bp long linker DNAs (L-DNA), we identified binding modes of the H5-LH globular domain (GH5) to the nucleosome. For a wide range of nucleosomal conformations with the L-DNA ends less than 65 Å apart, one dominant binding mode was identified for GH5 and found to be consistent with fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) experiments. GH5 binds asymmetrically with respect to the nucleosomal dyad axis, fitting between the nucleosomal DNA and one of the L-DNAs. For greater distances between L-DNA ends, docking of GH5 to the L-DNA that is more restrained and less open becomes favored. These results suggest a selection mechanism by which GH5 preferentially binds one of the L-DNAs and thereby affects DNA dynamics and accessibility and contributes to formation of a particular chromatin fiber structure. The two binding modes identified would, respectively, favor a tight zigzag chromatin structure or a loose solenoid chromatin fiber.     

Kinematics and dynamics of the temporomandibular joint and of the movements of the mandible

In order to analyze the complicated movements of the mandible as the open-closing movement and the protrusio are, it is useful to evaluate the basic kinematic principles and reduce them to simple technical constructions. Both the open-closing movement and the protrusio could be reduced to 4-bar links, which were used to simulate the movements with help of a computer. Besides, the polodes and the curves of points in the muscular attachments could be constructed. The 2 entirely different 4-bar links have 3 things in common: The resting system - cranium, the moving system - mandibula, and 1 of the 2 arms connecting these 2 systems - the ligamentum laterale. As this ligament is taut during movements it can be considered a "guiding ligament" representing 1 of the 3 determining components of the mandibular movements. The other of the 2 arms has no anatomical equivalent; this arm, however, is "replaced" by the 2 other determining components of the mandibular movements: the joint and the muscles. The curves, which the Caput mandibulae describes, are practically identical for the open-closing movement and the protrusio despite of the different 4-bar links and these curves exactly correspond to the Discus articularis, taut by the upper part of the M. pterygoideus lateralis. The muscles do not only just move the mandibula, but they are also the component, which can choose between the different mandibular movements. By means of the curves, which points in the muscular attachments describe, the function of the masticatory muscles could be analyzed exactly.     

Biophysics and Structure of the Patch and the Gigaseal

Interpreting channel behavior in patches requires an understanding of patch structure and dynamics, especially in studies of mechanosensitive channels. High resolution optical studies show that patch formation occurs via blebbing that disrupts normal membrane structure and redistributes in situ components including ion channels. There is a 1-2 μm region of the seal below the patch where proteins are excluded and this may consist of extracted lipids that form the gigaseal. Patch domes often have complex geometries with inhomogeneous stresses due to the membrane-glass adhesion energy (E_a), cytoskeletal forces, and possible lipid subdomains. The resting tension in the patch dome ranges from 1-4 mN/m, a significant fraction of the lytic tension of a bilayer (∼10 mN/m). Thus, all patch experiments are conducted under substantial, and uneven, resting tension that may alter the kinetics of many channels. E_a seems dominated by van der Waals attraction overlaid with a normally repulsive Coulombic force. High ionic strength pipette saline increased E_a and, surprisingly, increased cytoskeletal rigidity in cell-attached patches. Low pH pipette saline also increased E_a and reduced the seal selectivity for cations, presumably by neutralizing the membrane surface charge. The seal is a negatively charged, cation selective, space with a resistance of ∼7 gigohm/μm in 100 mM KCl, and the high resistivity of the space may result from the presence of high viscosity glycoproteins. Patches creep up the pipette over time with voltage independent and voltage dependent components. Voltage-independent creep is expected from the capillary attraction of E_a and the flow of fresh lipids from the cell. Voltage-dependent creep seems to arise from electroosmosis in the seal. Neutralization of negative charges on the seal membrane with low pH decreased the creep rate and reversed the direction of creep at positive pipette potentials.     

The efficacy of ropivacaine and bupivacaine in the caesarean section and the effect on the vital signs and the hemodynamics of the lying-in women

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy of ropivacaine and bupivacaine in caesarean section and vital signs and the hemodynamics of the lying-in women.MethodsA total of 480 lying-in women who were admitted to this hospital for treatment between December 2017 and June 2018 were enrolled into this study as the subjects, which were divided into the experiment group and the control group, with 240 subjects in each group. In the experiment group, subjects received the local anesthesia by infusion of 1.5 mL ropivacaine (0.75%), while those in the control group also took the local anesthesia by infusion of 1.5 mL bupivacaine (0.75%). Thereafter, we observed the differences in the anesthetic efficiency, vital signs and hemodynamics of the lying-in women between two groups.ResultsThe excellent and good rates of the anesthesia in two groups were 92.1% and 87.9%, showing no obvious difference; in the experiment group, the average arterial pressures and systolic pressures at 5 min and 10 min after combined spinal and epidural analgesia (CSEA) were all elevated when comparing to the control group (all P < 0.05); in the experiment group, the onset time was obviously extended, while duration of sensory and motor block and the duration of motor block were all shorter than those in the control group (all P < 0.05). During anesthesia, the incidence rate of the adverse reactions in the control group was 2.50%, significantly higher than 0.83% in the experiment group (P < 0.05).ConclusionDespite that ropivacaine and bupivacaine are efficient in anesthesia in the CSEA in the caesarean section, ropivacaine is more recommended for little influence on the hemodynamics, shorter duration of sensory block and motor block and low incidence rate of adverse reactions, which are conducive to the recovery and also safe to the patients.     

The biogeography of Nothofagus and Trigonobalanus and the origin of the Fagaceae

The suggestion that Trigonobalanus excelsa reached Colombia by migration from south-east Asia via the Bering land-bridge is criticized. The distribution of Trigonobalanus can be more simply explained by the disruption and drift of the former Pacific continent and the peninsula of West Gondwanaland. All but the New Guinea species of Nothofagus remain on the drifted fragments of the Gondwana peninsula, the original home of the family. Drift accounts for the present disjunct distribution of related Nothofagus species in the Southern hemisphere, but topoclines in characters of the fructifications and of the leaves linking New Zealand, New Caledonia and New Guinea indicate the overland migration route into the Pacific continent. Diversification of the family occurred in Pacifica before that continent was disrupted in the late Jurassic. With the formation of Eurasia, a topocline in leaf characters developed in Fagus along the migration route from China to Western Europe. Absence of topoclines involving the Bering land-bridge indicate that this bridge played no significant part in the dispersal of the Fagaceae. Shedding of the fruits of Glossopteris before the development of an embryo draws attention to the primitive character of delay in fertilization found in Nothofagus.