The relationship between consumption of tyrosine and phenylalanine as precursors of catecholamine at breakfast and the circadian typology and mental health in Japanese infants aged 2 to 5 years

Background

This study aims to examine the relationship between tyrosine and phenylalanine intake at breakfast as precursors of dopamine, and scores on the Torsvall-Åkerstedt Diurnal Type Scale and of mental health in Japanese infants aged 2 to 5 years.

Results

An integrated questionnaire was administered to parents of 1,367 infants attending one of ten nursery schools governed by Kochi City or a kindergarten affiliated with the Faculty of Education at Kochi University (775 answers for analysis: 56.7%) in May and June 2008. Questionnaires included the Torsvall-Åkerstedt Diurnal Type Scale and questions on sleep habits (onset, offset, quality, quantity, and so on), meal habits (content and regularity of timing), and mental health (depressive states). Amount of tyrosine and phenylalanine intake was calculated based on a breakfast content questionnaire and data on the components of amino acids in foods. Infants who ingested more than 800 mg of tyrosine or phenylalanine at breakfast per meal were more morning-type than those who ingested less than 800 mg (ANOVA: P= 0.005). However, this relationship disappeared in the ANCOVA analysis (with the covariance of tryptophan intake, P= 0.894). Infants who ingested more than 800 mg of the two amino acids at breakfast showed significantly higher mental health scores (lower frequency of depressive states) than those who ingested less than 800 mg (ANOVA: P = 0.004). This relationship remained significant when ANCOVA analysis was performed with the covariance of tryptophan (ANCOVA: P= 0.017).

Conclusions

These results suggest that tyrosine and phenylalanine ingested at breakfast are not related with circadian phase, but are relate with mental health in infants.     

30年泰山繁殖鸟类种类变化

泰山位于山东省中部,是华北中东部地区海拔最高的山脉,地形多样,生境复杂,是鸟类重要的繁殖地和迁徙停歇地。根据1984~1988年和2013~2015年两个时期野外调查及访谈调查结果,比较了近30年泰山繁殖鸟类种类的组成变化。相比20世纪80年代记录的繁殖鸟类13目35科72种,2013~2015年的调查记录到繁殖鸟类11目34科84种,与30年前相比净增长12种繁殖鸟类,其中新增繁殖鸟类记录32种,消失鸟类记录20种。新增种类主要是林地和灌丛鸟类,多为东洋种,消失的种类主要是湿地和农田草地鸟类,多为古北种和广布种。鸟类新增和消失的原因多样,但主要是栖息地面积和质量的改变,同时私自放生也是一个重要原因。本研究结果可丰富泰山地区随时间尺度变化的鸟类本底数据,并为泰山鸟类的保护提供科学依据。     

The association of feeding behaviour with the resistance and tolerance to parasites in recently diverged sticklebacks

Divergent natural selection regimes can contribute to adaptive population divergence, but can be sensitive to human‐mediated environmental change. Nutrient loading of aquatic ecosystems, for example, might modify selection pressures by altering the abundance and distribution of resources and the prevalence and infectivity of parasites. Here, we used a mesocosm experiment to test for interactive effects of nutrient loading and parasitism on host condition and feeding ecology. Specifically, we investigated whether the common fish parasite Gyrodactylus sp. differentially affected recently diverged lake and stream ecotypes of three‐spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We found that the stream ecotype had a higher resistance to Gyrodactylus sp. infections than the lake ecotype, and that both ecotypes experienced a cost of parasitism, indicated by negative relationships between parasite load and both stomach fullness and body condition. Overall, our results suggest that in the early stages of adaptive population divergence of hosts, parasites can affect host resistance, body condition and diet.     

体外反搏治疗小儿急性脑外伤的临床应用分析

目的:探讨以体外反搏为主的综合康复治疗对脑外伤后偏瘫患儿运动功能和日常生活活动能力(ADL)的影响。方法:选择2015年7月至2017年7月我院神经外科收治的脑外伤后偏瘫患儿46例,将其随机分为对照组和治疗组。两组患者均采用常规的康复治疗和护理,对照组采取常规的物理治疗(PT治疗),治疗组患者给予以体外反搏为主的综合康复治疗。于治疗1、3个月后,评价和比较两组患者粗大运动能力(GMFM)评分、精细运动能力(FMFM)评分和日常生活能力(ADL)评分的变化。结果:治疗1、3个月后,两组患儿GMFM、FMFM评分均较治疗前明显增加(均P0.01),而治疗组治疗后GMFM、FMFM评分均明显高于对照组(均P0.01)。两组治疗一个月后ADL总有效率(显效率与有效率之和)分别为90.48%和76.19%,治疗三个月后分别为95.24%和85.71%,治疗组均显著高于对照组(均P0.05)。结论:以体外反搏为主的综合康复治疗有利于促进脑外伤后偏瘫患者ADL及部分运动功能的提高。     

骨化三醇联合腹膜透析疗法治疗慢性肾功能衰竭的临床疗效及对患者血清ProGRP、Cysc、Chemerin水平的影响

目的:探讨骨化三醇联合腹膜透析疗法治疗慢性肾功能衰竭的临床疗效及对患者血清Pro-Gastrin-Releasing Peptide (ProGRP)、CystatinC(Cysc)、Chemerin水平的影响。方法:选取我院2017年2月至2018年1月收治的98例慢性肾功能衰竭患者,按照随机数表法将其分为观察组(n=51)和对照组(n=47)。对照组采用腹膜透析疗法治疗,观察组采用骨化三醇联合腹膜透析疗法治疗。观察和比较两组治疗前后肾功能指标尿素氮(blood urea nitrogen,BUN)、血清肌酐(Serum creatinine Cr)、24小时尿蛋白(24 h urinary protein,24 h UP),生化指标白蛋白(albumin,Alb)、血红蛋白(hemoglobin,Hb)及红细胞(red blood cell,RBC),胃泌素释放肽前体(ProGRP)、血清胱抑素(Cys C)、趋化素(Chemerin)水平的变化,6个月、1年生存率及不良反应的发生情况。结果:治疗后,观察组BUN、SCr、24hUP水平均显著低于对照组[(13.95±3.06)mmol/L vs.(21.10±3.85)mmol/L,(260.12±40.32)μmol/L vs.(354.93±51.06)μmol/L,(1.75±0.45)g/24 h vs.(2.67±0.80)g/24 h](P0.05);Alb水平显著低于对照组[(27.85±3.58)g/L vs.(33.06±4.27)g/L](P0.05);Hb、RBC显著高于对照组[(91.72±13.46)g/L vs.(82.36±10.15)g/L,(379.47±92.08)×1012/L vs.(315.70±73.24)×1012/L](P0.05);ProGRP、Chemerin水平显著低于对照组[(49.23±4.72)pg/mL vs.(63.87±7.30)pg/mL,(37.02±6.15)μg/L vs.(30.63±4.81)μg/L](P0.05);Cysc水平显著高于对照组[(80.75±16.08)mL/min vs.(98.81±18.07)mL/min](P0.05);6个月、1年生存率均显著高于对照组[96.08%(49/51) vs. 91.49%(43/47),90.20%(46/51) vs. 74.47%(35/47)](P0.05);不良反应总发生率显著低于对照组[17.65%(9/51) vs. 44.68%(21/47)](P0.05)。结论:骨化三醇联合腹膜透析疗法治疗慢性肾功能衰竭的临床效果显著优于单用,其可有效减轻患者的临床症状,纠正电解质紊乱,改善肾功能和预后,可能与降低血清ProGRP、Chemerin水平及提高血清Cysc水平有关。     

Autism‐related behaviors in the cyclooxygenase‐2‐deficient mouse model

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is an endogenous lipid molecule involved in normal brain development. Cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX2) is the main regulator of PGE2 synthesis. Emerging clinical and molecular research provides compelling evidence that abnormal COX2/PGE2 signaling is associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We previously found that COX2 knockout mice had dysregulated expression of many ASD genes belonging to important biological pathways for neurodevelopment. The present study is the first to show the connection between irregular COX2/PGE2 signaling and autism‐related behaviors in male and female COX2‐deficient knockin, (COX)‐2^?, mice at young (4‐6 weeks) or adult (8‐11 weeks) ages. Autism‐related behaviors were prominent in male (COX)‐2^? mice for most behavioral tests. In the open field test, (COX)‐2^? mice traveled more than controls and adult male (COX)‐2^? mice spent less time in the center indicating elevated hyperactive and anxiety‐linked behaviors. (COX)‐2^? mice also buried more marbles, with males burying more than females, suggesting increased anxiety and repetitive behaviors. Young male (COX)‐2^? mice fell more frequently in the inverted screen test revealing motor deficits. The three‐chamber sociability test found that adult female (COX)‐2^? mice spent less time in the novel mouse chamber indicative of social abnormalities. In addition, male (COX)‐2^? mice showed altered expression of several autism‐linked genes: Wnt2, Glo1, Grm5 and Mmp9. Overall, our findings offer new insight into the involvement of disrupted COX2/PGE2 signaling in ASD pathology with age‐related differences and greater impact on males. We propose that (COX)‐2^? mice might serve as a novel model system to study specific types of autism.     

Plasma proteomics and the paediatric patient

Introduction: Plasma proteomics has been extensively utilized for studies that investigate various disease settings (e.g. cardiovascular disease), as well as to monitor the effect of pharmaceuticals on the plasma proteome (e.g. chemotherapy). However, plasma proteomic studies focusing on children represent a very small proportion of the plasma proteomic studies completed to date. Early disease detection and prevention is critical in pediatrics, as children must live with the disease outcomes for many years and often carry negative outcomes into adulthood. Pediatrics represents an area of plasma proteomics that is about to undergo a significant expansion.

Areas covered: This review is based on a PubMed search focusing on five keywords that are plasma, biomarkers, pediatric, proteomics, and children. It is a comprehensive summary of plasma proteomic studies specific to the pediatric patient and discusses aspects such as the clinical setting, sample size, methodological approaches and outlines the significance of the findings.

Expert commentary: Plasma proteomics is expanding significantly as a result of major advancements in proteomic technology. This is in synergy with the growing focus on true early disease detection and prevention in early life. We are about to see a new era of advanced medical science built from pediatric proteomics.     

Higher climatic sensitivity of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) subjected to tourist pressure on a hiking trail in the Brodnica Lakeland,NE Poland

Climate condtions constitute some of the main factors affecting variation in annual tree-ring growth. However other exogenous processes including geomorphic activity can affect substantially the rate of tree growth. Currently little is known on how human activity such as trampling affects tree growth along hiking trails.We analyzed annual growth variation in 42 Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris L.) subjected to what is known as tourist pressure on a heavily used hiking trail in the Brodnica Lakeland located in Northeastern Poland and compared them with 45 pin. trees growing under natural conditions. Specifically, we compared the climate sensitivity of pine trees growing under trampling pressure with a pine reference site using climate variables such as mean, minimum and maximum monthly air temperature and monthly precipitation. Positive and negative pointer years for two sites were designated using the Becker algorithm and compared.Results revealed that Scots pine annual growth at both sites was highly correlated with winter (January, February) and spring (March) air temperatures and February precipitation. However, both the response function analysis and pointer year analysis revealed higher climatic sensitivity of trees subjected to trampling. It was revealed that thermal and pluvial conditions play an important role for Scots pine growth at the trampling site (PRES), especially in June and July when cambium is probably most active. At the same time, these are the months during which tourist activity is the most intense. Tree growth on a hiking trail was positively correlated with higher precipitation and lower maximum air temperature in June and July. This may indicate that pine trees subjected to trampling are threatened by a potential moisture limitation that occurs within and around the studied hiking trail due to an increase in soil compaction. Additionally, the study revealed growth reduction in pine trees subjected to trampling pressure starting from the late 1970s, i.e., right at a time when a strong increase in tourist traffic was noted across the Brodnica Lakeland.The study shows that human impact associated with trampling on hiking trails significantlly affects the growth of Scots pine and should be taken into account in future dendroecological studies.     

Identification of a α‐helical molten globule intermediate and structural characterization of β‐cardiotoxin,an all β‐sheet protein isolated from the venom of Ophiophagus hannah (king cobra)

β‐Cardiotoxin is a novel member of the snake venom three‐finger toxin (3FTX) family. This is the first exogenous protein to antagonize β‐adrenergic receptors and thereby causing reduction in heart rates (bradycardia) when administered into animals, unlike the conventional cardiotoxins as reported earlier. 3FTXs are stable all β‐sheet peptides with 60–80 amino acid residues. Here, we describe the three‐dimensional crystal structure of β‐cardiotoxin together with the identification of a molten globule intermediate in the unfolding pathway of this protein. In spite of the overall structural similarity of this protein with conventional cardiotoxins, there are notable differences observed at the loop region and in the charge distribution on the surface, which are known to be critical for cytolytic activity of cardiotoxins. The molten globule intermediate state present in the thermal unfolding pathway of β‐cardiotoxin was however not observed during the chemical denaturation of the protein. Interestingly, circular dichroism (CD) and NMR studies revealed the presence of α‐helical secondary structure in the molten globule intermediate. These results point to substantial conformational plasticity of β‐cardiotoxin, which might aid the protein in responding to the sometimes conflicting demands of structure, stability, and function during its biological lifetime.