Functional morphology of the cephalopod buccal mass: a novel joint type

The arrangement of the musculature and connective tissues of the buccal mass of the coleoid cephalopods Octopus bimaculoides, Sepia officinalis, and Loliguncula brevis was examined using dissection and histology. Serial sections in three mutually perpendicular planes were used to identify the muscles and connective tissues responsible for beak movements and stability and to describe their morphology and fiber trajectories. Four major beak muscles were identified: the anterior, posterior, superior, and lateral mandibular muscles. The anterior, posterior, and superior mandibular muscles connect the upper beak and the lower beak. Although the lateral mandibular muscles originate on the upper beak, they do not connect to the lower beak and instead insert on a connective tissue sheath surrounding the buccal mass. Examination of the fibers of the lateral mandibular muscles reveals that they have the organization of a muscular hydrostat, with muscle fibers oriented in three mutually perpendicular orientations. Although the beaks are capable of complex opening, closing, and shearing movements, they do not contact one another and are instead connected only by the musculature of the buccal mass. Based on the morphological analysis and observations of freshly dissected beaks undergoing the stereotyped bite cycle, the functional role of the beak muscles is hypothesized. The anterior and superior mandibular muscles are likely responsible for beak closing and shearing movements. The posterior mandibular muscle is likely also involved in beak closing, but may act synergistically with the lateral mandibular muscles to open the beaks. The lateral mandibular muscles may use a muscular-hydrostatic mechanism to control the location of the pivot between the beaks and to generate the force required for beak opening. The lack of contact between the beaks and the morphology of the lateral mandibular muscles suggests that the buccal mass of coleoid cephalopods may represent a previously unexamined flexible joint mechanism. The term "muscle articulation" is proposed here to denote the importance of the musculature in the function of such a joint.     

骨痹消对兔骨关节炎软骨细胞凋亡的影响

目的探讨中药早期治疗对兔实验性膝关节骨性关节炎(KOA)软骨细胞凋亡的影响。方法参照Okazaki等[1]伸膝制动OA动物模型法造模,随机分为正常组(A组)、模型组(B组)、骨痹消组(C组),于治疗6周、10周后测各组兔血清NO水平变化;软骨电镜结构及TUNEL法软骨细胞凋亡指数(AI)。结果 B组血清NO水平逐渐升高,C组有不同程度的降低;B组电镜下6周时可见凋亡细胞,10周可见凋亡小体;TUNEL法细胞凋亡原位检测:B组软骨细胞AI明显增高。治疗后C组下降明显,10周时与B组相比具极显著差异(P0.01)。结论骨痹消在一定程度上阻断软骨细胞凋亡,减少细胞凋亡数量,促进软骨的修复。     

Evaluation of different biological data and computational classification methods for use in protein interaction prediction

Protein–protein interactions play a key role in many biological systems. High‐throughput methods can directly detect the set of interacting proteins in yeast, but the results are often incomplete and exhibit high false‐positive and false‐negative rates. Recently, many different research groups independently suggested using supervised learning methods to integrate direct and indirect biological data sources for the protein interaction prediction task. However, the data sources, approaches, and implementations varied. Furthermore, the protein interaction prediction task itself can be subdivided into prediction of (1) physical interaction, (2) co‐complex relationship, and (3) pathway co‐membership. To investigate systematically the utility of different data sources and the way the data is encoded as features for predicting each of these types of protein interactions, we assembled a large set of biological features and varied their encoding for use in each of the three prediction tasks. Six different classifiers were used to assess the accuracy in predicting interactions, Random Forest (RF), RF similarity‐based k‐Nearest‐Neighbor, Naïve Bayes, Decision Tree, Logistic Regression, and Support Vector Machine. For all classifiers, the three prediction tasks had different success rates, and co‐complex prediction appears to be an easier task than the other two. Independently of prediction task, however, the RF classifier consistently ranked as one of the top two classifiers for all combinations of feature sets. Therefore, we used this classifier to study the importance of different biological datasets. First, we used the splitting function of the RF tree structure, the Gini index, to estimate feature importance. Second, we determined classification accuracy when only the top‐ranking features were used as an input in the classifier. We find that the importance of different features depends on the specific prediction task and the way they are encoded. Strikingly, gene expression is consistently the most important feature for all three prediction tasks, while the protein interactions identified using the yeast‐2‐hybrid system were not among the top‐ranking features under any condition. Proteins 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Change Trend of Water Resources Using Matter Analysis

Many countries currently face pressures and risks associated with scarce water resources. By using grey correlation analysis, we can choose physical factors with close relationships to water resources. In this article, we used physical factors as possible predictors and thus endowed matter analysis with a forecast function, which represents a novel application. By repeatedly adjusting grade division values (classical domain and joint domain) of each factor, it is possible to determine the maximum fit between the calculated grade and the actual grade of annual runoff. Results presented here indicate that this method is suitable for forecasting changing annual runoff trends in drainage basins. By focusing on forecasts of changing trends relating to water resources, we have set up a preliminary calculation system based on matter analysis. It is expected that this application will become more sensitive, resulting in improved performance in terms of trend forecasts of water resources using matter analysis.     

The value of coordinated management of interacting ecosystem services

Coordinating decisions and actions among interacting sectors is a critical component of ecosystem-based management, but uncertainty about coordinated management's effects is compromising its perceived value and use. We constructed an analytical framework for explicitly calculating how coordination affects management decisions, ecosystem state and the provision of ecosystem services in relation to ecosystem dynamics and socio-economic objectives. The central insight is that the appropriate comparison strategy to optimal coordinated management is optimal uncoordinated management, which can be identified at the game theoretic Nash equilibrium. Using this insight we can calculate coordination's effects in relation to uncoordinated management and other reference scenarios. To illustrate how this framework can help identify ecosystem and socio-economic conditions under which coordination is most influential and valuable, we applied it to a heuristic case study and a simulation model for the California Current Marine Ecosystem. Results indicate that coordinated management can more than double an ecosystem's societal value, especially when sectors can effectively manipulate resources that interact strongly. However, societal gains from coordination will need to be reconciled with observations that it also leads to strategic simplification of the ecological food web, and generates both positive and negative impacts on individual sectors and non-target species.     

镉和十二烷基硫酸钠对克氏原螯虾的单一和联合毒性

采用静水生物测试法,研究了十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)和Cd2+对克氏原螯虾的单一和联合毒性效应。结果表明,SDS对克氏原螯虾24、48、72和96h的半致死浓度(LC50)分别为1365.60、1171.72、1128.43和1120.43mg·L-1,安全浓度(SC)为258.79mg·L-1;Cd2+对克氏原螯虾24、48、72和96h的LC50分别为1197.09、142.06、90.85和82.64mg·L-1,SC值为0.6mg·L-1。SDS和Cd2+对克氏原螯虾的毒性分别为低毒和高毒,毒性大小为Cd2+>SDS。联合毒性试验表明,二者毒性比为1∶1,暴露时间为24、48、72和96h时,相加指数(AI)分别为0.335、0.017、0.030和0.032,联合作用结果均为毒性增强的协同作用。     

膝骨性关节炎关节镜下分级治疗的临床应用

目的:探索膝关节骨性关节炎关节镜下分期及治疗的临床意义及效果。方法:将74例81膝骨性关节炎应用自行设计的关节镜下分级方法分为4级,并分别手术进行术后疗效观察。结果:1级21膝,优良率100%;2级23膝,优良率78.26%;3级25膝,优良率56%;4级12膝,优良率33.33%。结果 Wilcoxon秩检验,T=4.84,P<0.05,差异有显著性。结论:膝骨关节炎关节镜下分级,对于关节镜治疗膝关节骨性关节炎疗效差异显著。有助于手术适应症掌握,规范程序,避免手术盲目性及不必要损伤。     

肿瘤标志物在卵巢恶性肿瘤早期误诊预防中的价值

目的:探讨糖类抗原CA125、CEA与CA199联合检测对卵巢癌有一定的鉴别诊断价值。方法:应用化学发光免疫法对126例经病理查证实的卵巢癌患者(试验组)、104例良性肿瘤患者(对照组)进行血清CA125、CEA与CA199检测。结果:试验组血清检测结果和阳性率均明显高于对照组(P<0.01),联合检测阳性率高于单项检测(P<0.01)。结论:应用检验医学进行CA125、CEA与CA199联合检测对卵巢癌有一定的鉴别诊断价值。可降低误诊率。     

关节镜下有限清理术治疗膝关节骨性关节炎的体会

目的:探讨关节镜下有限清理术治疗膝关节骨性关节炎的疗效。方法:自2005年6月至2009年10月对62例81膝膝关节骨性关节炎患者进行关节镜下有限清理术,对其临床疗效进行分析。结果:本组病例均获随访,时间12~36个月。优28膝,良39膝,可10膝,差4膝,优良率82.7%。结论:关节镜下有限清理术治疗膝关节骨性关节炎可以有效改善病人的症状,明显改善生活质量。     

The directional flow of visual information transfer between pedestrians

Close behavioural coupling of visual orientation may provide a range of adaptive benefits to social species. In order to investigate the natural properties of gaze-following between pedestrians, we displayed an attractive stimulus in a frequently trafficked corridor within which a hidden camera was placed to detect directed gaze from passers-by. The presence of visual cues towards the stimulus by nearby pedestrians increased the probability of passers-by looking as well. In contrast to cueing paradigms used for laboratory research, however, we found that individuals were more responsive to changes in the visual orientation of those walking in the same direction in front of them (i.e. viewing head direction from behind). In fact, visual attention towards the stimulus diminished when oncoming pedestrians had previously looked. Information was therefore transferred more effectively behind, rather than in front of, gaze cues. Further analyses show that neither crowding nor group interactions were driving these effects, suggesting that, within natural settings gaze-following is strongly mediated by social interaction and facilitates acquisition of environmentally relevant information.