单眼远视性弱视儿童P-VEP检查的临床研究

目的:分析单眼远视性弱视儿童图形视觉诱发电位(P-VEP)检查情况,探讨外周发病机制,为临床诊疗提供依据。方法:选取2013年1月到2015年10月我院收治的单眼远视性弱视儿童75例(75只眼),另选取同期正常儿童32例(64只眼)为对照组,根据病情将弱视儿童分为轻度(A组)和对侧健眼组(B组),中度(C组)和对侧健眼组(D组),重度(E组)和对侧健眼组(F组),应用P-VEP检查各组P100波及振幅。结果:A组、C组、E组P100波潜伏期较B组、D组、F组和对照组延长(P0.05),振幅较B组、D组、F组和对照组降低(P0.05),A组、C组和、E组P100波潜伏期和振幅比较具有统计学意义(P0.05),B组、D组、F组P100波潜伏期与对照组无统计学意义(P0.05),B组、D组、F组振幅显著低于对照组(P0.05),B组、D组、F组P100波潜伏期和振幅比较无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:单眼远视性弱视儿童弱视眼会出现P100波潜伏期延长,振幅降低,对侧健康眼会出现振幅降低。     

Inbreeding depression of sperm traits in the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata

Inbreeding depression, or the reduction in fitness due to mating between close relatives, is a key issue in biology today. Inbreeding negatively affects many fitness‐related traits, including survival and reproductive success. Despite this, very few studies have quantified the effects of inbreeding on vertebrate gamete traits under controlled breeding conditions using a full‐sib mating approach. Here, we provide comprehensive evidence for the negative effect of inbreeding on sperm traits in a bird, the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata. We compared sperm characteristics of both inbred (pedigree F = 0.25) and outbred (pedigree F = 0) individuals from two captive populations, one domesticated and one recently wild‐derived, raised under standardized conditions. As normal spermatozoa morphology did not differ consistently between inbred and outbred individuals, our study confirms the hypothesis that sperm morphology is not particularly susceptible to inbreeding depression. Inbreeding did, however, lead to significantly lower sperm motility and a substantially higher percentage of abnormal spermatozoa in ejaculate. These results were consistent across both study populations, confirming the generality and reliability of our findings.     

一株高产淀粉绿藻——标志链带藻在废水中的培养及对氮磷的去除

为了研究标志链带藻(Desmodesmus insignis strain JNU24)在不同Na NO3浓度和不同废水浓度培养下的生长与代谢产物积累状况,评估标志链带藻对废水的处理能力,本研究利用柱状光反应器对标志链带藻进行培养,分别对4种Na NO3浓度的BG-11培养基和4种废水浓度培养下藻细胞的生物量、蛋白质含量、碳水化合物含量和淀粉含量进行了测定。结果显示,在BG-11培养基中,氮浓度为9.0 mmol/L时,藻细胞生物质浓度最高,达6.23 g/L;在废水培养下,未稀释的原废水实验组,其藻细胞生物质浓度最高,达10.31 g/L;75%废水培养下,藻细胞的淀粉含量最高(达50.9%),单位体积藻细胞淀粉含量和产率分别为4.86 g/L和405 mg·L~(-1)·d~(-1),且显著高于不同浓度Na NO3的BG-11培养基组。本研究还测定了标志链带藻对废水中氮、磷的去除效率,结果显示不同浓度废水培养下,氮、磷的去除效率最高可达90.8%和98.7%。基于柱状反应器中的最佳培养效果,以9.0 mmol/L Na NO3的BG-11培养基和75%废水于3.0 cm光径平板光生物反应器中进行室内扩大培养,结果显示在75%废水培养下,藻细胞生物质浓度达9.75 g/L,淀粉单位体积含量和产率分别达到4.75 g/L和230 mg·L~(-1)·d~(-1),且为9.0 mmol/L Na NO3的BG-11培养基培养的3倍。通过沉降特性分析发现,藻细胞收获90 min后均完全沉降,具有较强的沉降性能。本研究标志链带藻能够耐受废水中较高的氮、磷浓度,且对废水中氮、磷有显著的去除作用;该藻能利用废水中的营养成分积累较高的生物量和淀粉含量并且藻细胞能快速沉降,具有极高的经济价值和应用价值,是一株淀粉生产能力较高和废水处理能力较强的极具开发潜力的藻株。     

Early network activity propagates bidirectionally between hippocampus and cortex

Spontaneous activity in the developing brain helps refine neuronal connections before the arrival of sensory‐driven neuronal activity. In mouse neocortex during the first postnatal week, waves of spontaneous activity originating from pacemaker regions in the septal nucleus and piriform cortex propagate through the neocortex. Using high‐speed Ca²⁺ imaging to resolve the spatiotemporal dynamics of wave propagation in parasagittal mouse brain slices, we show that the hippocampus can act as an additional source of neocortical waves. Some waves that originate in the hippocampus remain restricted to that structure, while others pause at the hippocampus‐neocortex boundary and then propagate into the neocortex. Blocking GABAergic neurotransmission decreases the likelihood of wave propagation into neocortex, whereas blocking glutamatergic neurotransmission eliminates spontaneous and evoked hippocampal waves. A subset of hippocampal and cortical waves trigger Ca²⁺ waves in astrocytic networks after a brief delay. Hippocampal waves accompanied by Ca²⁺ elevation in astrocytes are more likely to propagate into the neocortex. Finally, we show that two structures in our preparation that initiate waves—the hippocampus and the piriform cortex—can be electrically stimulated to initiate propagating waves at lower thresholds than the neocortex, indicating that the intrinsic circuit properties of those regions are responsible for their pacemaker function. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 76: 661–672, 2016     

Imaging Calcium in Drosophila at Egg Activation

Egg activation is a universal process that includes a series of events to allow the fertilized egg to complete meiosis and initiate embryonic development. One aspect of egg activation, conserved across all organisms examined, is a change in the intracellular concentration of calcium (Ca²⁺) often termed a ''Ca²⁺ wave''. While the speed and number of oscillations of the Ca²⁺ wave varies between species, the change in intracellular Ca²⁺ is key in bringing about essential events for embryonic development. These changes include resumption of the cell cycle, mRNA regulation, cortical granule exocytosis, and rearrangement of the cytoskeleton.In the mature Drosophila egg, activation occurs in the female oviduct prior to fertilization, initiating a series of Ca²⁺-dependent events. Here we present a protocol for imaging the Ca²⁺ wave in Drosophila. This approach provides a manipulable model system to interrogate the mechanism of the Ca²⁺ wave and the downstream changes associated with it.     

The effect of two cryopreservation methods on human sperm DNA damage

Several methods are currently available for selection when conducting sperm cryopreservation, however, these methods might cause different degrees of damage on sperm DNA. The aim of the this study is to compare the effects of storage at −80 °C (in ultra-low temperature refrigerator) and at −196 °C (in liquid nitrogen) on sperm DNA damage, thus to provide a reference for choosing the right method according to different aims. We randomly collected 28 semen samples from college students of Chongqing city. The samples stored at −80 °C were neat semen samples and the samples stored at −196 °C were mixed with additional cryoprotectants. Each sample was subjected to two freezing-thawing cycles, and the sperm DNA damage levels of fresh and thawed samples were measured by single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) and sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA). Both SCGE and SCSA assays showed cryopreservation induced significant damage to sperm DNA. However, storage at −196 °C lead to more severe damage to sperm DNA than storage at −80 °C measured by SCSA. Sperm DNA damage increased simultaneously with the higher frequency of freezing-thawing cycles. We concluded that storage of neat semen samples at −80 °C had milder damage to sperm DNA than storage at −196 °C mixed with cryoprotectants. To avoid additional sperm DNA damage, repeated freezing and thawing should be prevented.     

Simulating effects of climate change under direct and diapause development in a butterfly

Temperature is one of the most important ecological factors affecting species survival and distributions. Therefore, global climate change, involving increases in mean surface temperature and the occurrence of extreme weather events, may pose a substantial challenge to biodiversity. Whereas tropical ectotherms are believed to be very sensitive to climate change, temperate‐zone species may actually benefit from higher temperatures. However, as in temperate zones large parts of the year are unsuitable for growth and reproduction, seasonal time constraints may complicate matters. Against this background we here investigate the impact of simulated climate change, involving increased mean temperatures and heat waves, across developmental pathways of the butterfly Lycaena tityrus (Poda) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Increased temperatures speeded up development but decreased pupal mass as expected. However, we found no evidence for detrimental effects of increased temperatures or even simulated heat waves. Furthermore, patterns did not differ between indirectly and directly developing individuals, which are assumed to be more time constrained. Our findings support the notion that not all species will be detrimentally affected by climate change, and suggest that species attributes may be more important than potential time constraints imposed by different developmental pathways.     

A hydrologically sensitive invertebrate community index for New Zealand rivers

Identifying ecological response variables sensitive to hydrological change is a key step in determining the impacts of river flow alterations on aquatic ecosystems and in setting environmental flows that sustain certain ecological values. Building on the successful use of flow regime sensitive aquatic invertebrate indices in other countries, particularly the UK based Lotic Index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE), we provide two variants of a similar index for use in New Zealand (LIFENZ and a weighted variant: LIFENZ_W). As in the original LIFE, the New Zealand indices were based on water velocity preference categories assigned to aquatic invertebrate taxa using professional judgement. To calculate the indices a lookup table is used to assign a score to each taxon based on their velocity category and abundance. For the LIFENZ_W variant an additional step down weighted the scores if the taxon has a general compared to a more specific velocity preference. The two index variants were correlated with each other and to similar environmental parameters. Across a total of 74 sites, both indices were correlated with depth-averaged water velocity. Changes in index values, both between sites and temporally within sites, were predominantly associated with changes in hydrological parameters, such as the magnitude and length of time since a recent high flow, and to a lesser degree with other physico-chemical parameters. Commonly used indices in New Zealand designed to respond to nutrient enrichment (MCI and variants) were not correlated with local water velocity, but were correlated with antecedent flow conditions and were likely influenced by effects of flow stability on algal growth. Further testing of LIFENZ and LIFENZ_W in combination with MCI is recommended, particularly in rivers subject to more extreme hydrological and water quality stresses and with regard to other physical parameters such as hydraulic habitat. However, the LIFENZ and its weighted variant (LIFENZ_W) appear to be useful tools for understanding and managing the effects of hydrological alteration on aquatic invertebrate communities in New Zealand. As LIFENZ and LIFENZ_W were strongly correlated and only showed a relatively small deviation from a slope of 1 we recommend the use of the more straightforward LIFENZ in almost all circumstances.     

参松养心胶囊对心房颤动患者P波离散度及血清炎性因子水平的影响*

目的:探讨参松养心胶囊对心房颤动(AF)患者P波离散度(Pd)及血清炎性因子水平的影响,为临床用药提供依据。方法:将西安交通大学第一附属医院2016年3月-2018年1月收治的AF患者纳入本研究,共148例。所有患者根据不同的治疗方式分为对照组和观察组。对照组(n=74)接受常规治疗,观察组(n=74)在对照组基础上加用参松养心胶囊,两组均治疗8周。比较两组患者治疗后的临床疗效,观察并比较两组患者治疗前及治疗后的Pd、最大P波时限(Pmax)变化情况,检测两组患者治疗前及治疗后的血清炎性因子水平,记录不良反应发生情况。结果:观察组总有效率为89.19%(66/74),高于对照组的70.27%(52/74)(P0.05)。两组患者治疗后的Pmax、Pd均明显降低,且观察组患者治疗后的Pmax、Pd均明显低于对照组(P0.05)。两组患者治疗后的血清炎性因子水平均明显降低,且与对照组相比,观察组患者治疗后的血清肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、高敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)、白介素-6(IL-6)水平均降低(P0.05)。两组不良反应发生情况比较无统计学差异(P0.05)。结论:参松养心胶囊治疗AF患者安全有效,能明显减轻炎性反应,改善患者心功能。