An improved method for pollen release from anther: a case study with mangroves

The estimation of pollen production is widely used in pollination and reproductive ecology, aerobiology and pollen-vegetation relationship studies. Pollen release is the key step in estimating pollen production and therefore, the technique used to release pollen is critical. Three methods, the drying method (DM), mechanical method (MM) and chemical method (CM), are used to determine the amount of pollen released from anthers. Few studies have compared the results obtained from each method, making it difficult to determine which method is most appropriate in a given situation. In this study, we compared existing methods with a new method that increases the amount of pollen released from anthers. Eight species of mangrove trees from the Neilingding-Futian National Nature Reserve were selected for study. We combined the MM and CM to produce a new method (the ultrasonic method, UM). To determine the best ultrasonic treatment time using the UM, different durations were tested and the various responses were analysed. The relationships between pollen rupture and the ultrasonic treatment time, pollen size, exine thickness and aperture size were analysed. Finally, four methods for pollen release from anthers were compared. The results indicated that the UM could be an efficient method to release pollen from the anther. To avoid pollen rupture, ultrasonic treatment times in the UM should be less than 30 s. The pollen rupture rate was significantly correlated with the ultrasonic treatment time (r = 0.618, p < 0.001) and the aperture size (r = 0.248, p = 0.036). This comparative experiment indicated that the UM can generate a greater pollen yield than other methods while causing less pollen rupture than the MM. Therefore, the UM may be suitable for more plant species and more accurate for pollen production estimates than the existing three methods, particularly when estimating pollen production in all community plants.     

Structural determinants of increased susceptibility to dehydration‐induced cavitation in post‐fire resprouting chaparral shrubs

It is well established that transpiration and photosynthetic rates generally increase in resprouting shoots after fire in chaparral shrublands. By contrast, little is known about how plant hydraulic function varies during this same recovery period. We hypothesized that vascular traits, both functional and structural, would also shift in order to support this heightened level of gas exchange and growth. We examined stem xylem‐specific hydraulic conductivity (K_s) and resistance to cavitation (P₅₀) for eight chaparral shrub species as well as several potential xylem structural determinants of hydraulic function and compared established unburned plants and co‐occurring post‐fire resprouting plants. Unburned plants were generally more resistant to cavitation than resprouting plants, but the two groups did not differ in K_s. Resprouting plants had altered vessel structure compared with unburned plants, with resprouting plants having both wider diameter vessels and higher inter‐vessel pit density. For biomechanics, unburned plants had both stronger and denser stem xylem tissue than resprouting plants. Shifts in hydraulic structure and function resulted in resprouting plants being more vulnerable to dehydration. The interaction between time since disturbance (i.e. resprouting versus established stands) and drought may complicate attempts to predict mortality risk of resprouting plants.     

后腹腔镜肾脏手术对机体应激的影响

目的:探讨后腹腔镜肾脏手术对机体应激的影响。方法:选取2011年1月~2013年12月本院泌尿外科住院拟行肾脏手术的患者69例,分为后腹腔镜肾脏手术组(39例)与开放性肾脏手术组(30例),分别检测两组患者术前、术后1 h、术后24 h、术后72h术后120 h体内促肾上腺皮质激素(ACTH)、皮质醇(COR)、C反应蛋白(CRP)的含量,进行对比分析。结果:后腹腔镜肾脏手术组、开放性肾脏手术组两组ACTH和COR水平差异均有统计学意义(F_(分组)=107.286,P=0.000;F_(分组)=9.092,P=0.004);各个时间点的ACTH和COR差异也有统计学意义(F_(时间)=221.454,P=0.000;F_(时间)=94.257,P=0.000),术后1 h两组的ACTH和COR均明显增高,术后24 h、术后72 h及术后120 h两组的ACTH和COR均明显降低,后腹腔镜肾脏手术组术后72 h ACTH和COR降至术前水平,开放性肾脏手术组术后120 h ACTH和COR降至术前水平;后腹腔镜肾脏手术组不同时间点ACTH和COR的变化幅度小于开放性肾脏手术组(F_(交互)=36.446,P=0.000;F_(交互)=7.271,P=0.000)。CRP比较,两组差异也有统计学意义(F_(分组)=41.526,P=0.000);各个时间点的CRP差异也有统计学意义(F_(时间)=405.201,P=0.000),术后1 h、术后24 h、术后72 h CRP持续升高,术后120 h CRP明显降低;后腹腔镜肾脏手术组不同时间点COR升高幅度小于开放性肾脏手术组(F_(交互)=14.111,P=0.000)。结论:后腹腔镜肾脏手术对机体应激反应的影响程度小于开放性肾脏手术,能较大程度地维护机体神经系统及内分泌系统的稳定,更有利于机体的恢复。     

外伤性视神经病变最新治疗进展

外伤性视神经病(TON)最常见的原因是颅脑外伤,虽然其发病率不高,但是视力受损后果严重,特别是双侧视神经受损,大部分患者为青壮年,儿童患者占20%。其发病机制到目前为止仍未完全阐明,不同的医疗机构诊断和治疗不完全相同,临床疗效也千差万别。本文通过查阅近年最新文献,对外伤性视神经病变的最新研究进展从视神经解剖、发病机制、诊断、治疗(保守、手术)等方面分别进行综述。希望能够明确其发病机制,找到疗效确切的临床诊断和治疗方法。     

HRR、PLR与中重度颅脑损伤患者短期死亡的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨血红蛋白/红细胞分布宽度比值（HRR）、血小板/淋巴细胞比值（PLR）与中重度颅脑损伤（TBI）患者短期死亡的关系。方法：回顾性收集2019年9月～2021年9月徐州医科大学附属医院收治的162例中重度TBI患者的病历资料，根据患者入院30d内生存状态分为死亡组和存活组。计算HRR和PLR，采用多因素Logistic回归分析中重度TBI患者短期死亡的影响因素，受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析格拉斯哥昏迷量表（GCS）评分联合HRR、PLR对中重度TBI患者短期死亡的预测价值。结果：162例中重度TBI患者入院30 d内死亡率为35.80%（58/162）。与存活组比较，死亡组HRR降低，PLR升高（P＜0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析显示，GCS评分＜9分、瞳孔散大、脑疝和HRR降低、PLR升高为中重度TBI患者短期死亡的独立危险因素（P＜0.05）。ROC曲线分析显示，HRR、PLR联合GCS评分预测中重度TBI患者短期死亡的曲线下面积最大，为0.924。结论：HRR降低和PLR升高与中重度TBI患者短期死亡相关，可能成为中重度TBI患者短期死亡的辅助预测指标，在GCS评分基础上联合HRR、PLR能提升对中重度TBI患者短期死亡的预测价值。     

Estimating axonal strain and failure following white matter stretch using contactin-associated protein as a fiduciary marker

Axonal injury occurs during trauma when tissue-scale loads are transferred to individual axons. Computational models are used to understand this transfer and predict the circumstances that cause injury. However, these findings are limited by a lack of validating experimental work examining the mechanics of axons in their in situ state. As a first step towards validation for dynamic stretch, we use contactin-associated protein (Caspr), expressed at the nodes of Ranvier, as a fiduciary marker of quasistatic axonal stretch. We measured changes in the distance between immunolabled Caspr pairs along axons as a function of tissue-level stretch in chick embryo spinal cords harvested from different developmental periods. We then identified and characterized broken axons and adapted a kinematic model published previously by our group (Singh et al., 2015) to estimate average strain thresholds for axon mechanical failure. The distance between Caspr pairs increased with stretch, though not as much as predicted by simple continuum mechanics. For equivalent tissue stretch, greater numbers of broken axons were found at later stages of development. In adapting our kinematic model to predict a breaking threshold strain, we found that breaking thresholds decrease with development stage. When thresholds were split and classified based on kinematic behavior, non-affine, uncoupled axons had higher strain thresholds than affine, coupled axons, corroborating thresholds predicted from in vitro and in vivo preparations. These results provide a valuable launching point for generating more accurate multi-scale models in primary central nervous system injury.     

Analysis of three-dimensional knee kinematics during stair descent two decades post-ACL rupture – Data revisited using statistical parametric mapping

Changes in movement patterns following knee injuries have generally used analyses of pre-defined discrete event-related variables, whereas Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) assesses continuous data over time. We applied SPM to test differences for knee trajectories during stair descent between participants with past anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture who underwent reconstruction or only physical therapy compared to healthy controls. Three-dimensional knee joint kinematics during stair descent were registered for 31 subjects with ACL reconstruction (ACL_R), 36 subjects with ACL rupture managed with physical therapy only (ACL_PT) (∼23 years post-injury), and 32 uninjured controls. SPM was used to assess differences between groups for the entire three-component knee trajectory. A significant difference between the three groups was found for the first ∼10% of stance phase. Post-hoc analyses showed between-group differences when comparing the ACL_PT to the control groups. Analyses of ACL_PT versus control groups for individual vector components suggested a combination of less flexion at initial foot contact, and less adduction during weight acceptance (∼40% of stance). Altered knee kinematics were confirmed during weight acceptance of stair descent for the ACL_PT group compared to controls, but not for ACL_R group. Further exploration of the use of SPM and agreement with clinical gait assessment is warranted.     

Quantitative characterization of animal behavior following blast exposure

The simplest approach to quantifying animal behavior begins by identifying a list of discrete behaviors and observing the animal’s behavior at regular intervals for a specified period of time. The behavioral distribution (the fraction of observations corresponding to each behavior) is then determined. This is an incomplete characterization of behavior, and in some instances, mild injury is not reflected by statistically significant changes in the distribution even though a human observer can confidently and correctly assert that the animal is not behaving normally. In these circumstances, an examination of the sequential structure of the animal’s behavior may, however, show significant alteration. This contribution describes procedures derived from symbolic dynamics for quantifying the sequential structure of animal behavior. Normalization procedures for complexity estimates are presented, and the limitations of complexity measures are discussed.     

创伤性椎体骨折行椎体成形术后复发的危险因素评估

目的：对创伤性椎体骨折患者使用椎体成形术治疗后可能再次引起骨折的多个因素进行评估。方法：选取本院收治的经皮椎 体成形术（Percutaneous vertebroplasty,PVP）或经皮椎体后凸成形术（Percutaneous kyphoplasty,PKP）治疗的患者161 例,其中再次 发生骨折的患者113 例（131 椎）,根据治疗方法（PVP 或PKP）和再次发生骨折的部位（手术椎体或非手术椎体）不同,将患者分成 A1 和A2（再发骨折部位是手术椎体）、B1 和B2（骨折部位为非手术椎体）、C1 和C2（手术椎体和非手术椎体）以及D 组（未再次 发生骨折）共七组,A1,B1,C1 三组使用PVP,A2,B2,C2三组使用PKP,记录各组患者可能导致再发骨折风险的因素并和D组比 较,分析PVP或PKP治疗后椎体再次发生骨折的高危因素。结果：患者身高、体重、年龄等一系列因素之间的差异没有统计学意 义（P>0.05）;而骨水泥注入的体积在再发骨折患者和D 组之间差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）;椎间盘骨水泥是否渗透和是否使用抗 骨质疏松药物治疗的差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）;再发骨折患者和D 组患者25-(OH)D 的浓度之间的差异有统计学意义（P<0. 05）。多因素Logistic 分析显示,椎间盘水泥渗透、低浓度的25-(OH)D 和未使用抗骨质疏松药物治疗是椎体成形术治疗后复发骨 折的危险因素（P<0.05）。结论：PVP或PKP治疗后椎体再次发生骨折的三个危险因素是椎间盘骨水泥渗透、较低的25-(OH)D 浓 度和未使用抗骨质疏松药物治疗。