Osteology of Priocharax and remarkable developmental truncation in a miniature Amazonian fish (Teleostei: Characiformes: Characidae)

Establishing phylogenetic relationships of miniature fishes is challenging in taxa with developmental truncation. Within the Characiformes, developmental truncation appears to be relatively rare, with the Neotropical genus Priocharax being an example. Priocharax includes three miniature species among the smallest of the order and has been hypothesized to belong to the Heterocharacinae. The pronounced reduction in its skeleton, however, prevented a clearer evaluation of its relationships. The present detailed osteological study was designed to address this question and revealed that 21 bones are absent and nine other skeletal structures are simplified in Priocharax when compared to other characids. Comparison of the skeleton of adult Priocharax with early developmental stages of other characids demonstrated that most of the absences and simplifications can be interpreted as developmental truncations. The most striking developmental truncations are in the pectoral girdle, in which the endoskeleton remains entirely cartilaginous. Other interesting truncations are in the ethmoid region of the skull, infraorbital series, and Weberian apparatus, in which the claustrum is absent. Our study also revealed some unusual sexual dimorphisms in the pelvic girdle. Two cladistic analyses were performed to assess the relationships of Priocharax within the Heterocharacinae. The first consisted of a traditional analysis in which all absences and reductions of Priocharax were coded in the same way as in the remaining taxa. This resulted in three equally most parsimonious topologies, all of which have Priocharax as the most basal taxon of the Heterocharacinae. The second analysis incorporated ontogenetic information, and most absences and reductions of Priocharax were reinterpreted as apomorphic conditions and thus, coded differently from similar conditions in outgroups. This resulted in a single phylogenetic hypothesis with Priocharax and Gnathocharax as sister groups based on seven synapomorphies. Our approach demonstrates the importance of developmental studies to better understand morphological evolution of miniaturized, truncated taxa, and to generate hypotheses of their relationships. J. Morphol. 277:65–85, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effects of the β‐agonist,isoprenaline, on the down‐regulation,functional responsiveness and trafficking of β2‐adrenergic receptors with N‐terminal polymorphisms

The β₂‐AR (β₂‐adrenergic receptor) is an important target for respiratory and CVD (cardiovascular disease) medications. Clinical studies suggest that N‐terminal polymorphisms of β₂‐AR may act as disease modifiers. We hypothesized that polymorphisms at amino acids 16 and 27 result in differential trafficking and down‐regulation of β₂‐AR variants following β‐agonist exposure. The functional consequences of the four possible combinations of these polymorphisms in the human β₂‐AR (designated β₂‐AR‐RE, β₂‐AR‐GE, β₂‐AR‐RQ and β₂‐AR‐GQ) were studied using site‐directed mutagenesis and recombinant expression in HEK‐293 cells (human embryonic kidney cells). Ligand‐binding assays demonstrated that after 24 h exposure to 1 μM isoprenaline, isoforms with Arg¹⁶ (β₂‐AR‐RE and β₂‐AR‐RQ) underwent increased down‐regulation compared with isoforms with Gly¹⁶ (β₂‐AR‐GE and β₂‐AR‐GQ). Consistent with these differences in down‐regulation between isoforms, prolonged isoprenaline treatment resulted in diminished cAMP response to subsequent isoprenaline challenge in β₂‐AR‐RE relative to β₂‐AR‐GE. Confocal microscopy revealed that the receptor isoforms had similar co‐localization with the early endosomal marker EEA1 following isoprenaline treatment, suggesting that they had similar patterns of internalization. None of the isoforms exhibited significant co‐localization with the recycling endosome marker Rab11 in response to isoprenaline treatment. Furthermore, we found that prolonged isoprenaline treatment led to a higher degree of co‐localization of β₂‐AR‐RE with the lysosomal marker LAMP1 (lysosome‐associated membrane protein 1) compared with that of β₂‐AR‐GE. Taken together, these results indicate that a mechanism responsible for differential responses of these receptor isoforms to the β‐agonist involves differences in the efficiency with which agonist‐activated receptors are trafficked to the lysosomes for degradation, or differences in degradation in the lysosomes.     

Formation by Yeast of the HEMF (4-hydroxy-2(or 5)-ethyl-5(or 2)-methyl-3(2H)-furanone) Aroma Component in Miso with Aging

Two kinds of miso, one with added precultured yeast and the other without, were compared with respect to the changes in the concentration of HEMF formed and the number of yeast cells in the process of aging. In miso without added yeast, the HEMF concentration increased with the increasing number of existing yeast cells. In miso without yeast aged for 21 days after the miso mash, 0.06 ppm HEMF was detected when the cell number was 2.2 × 10³ cell/g. In yeast-added miso aged for 7 days after the miso mash, no HEMF was detected, although the number of yeast cells was 1.6 × 10⁶ cell/g. In yeast-added miso aged for 14 days after the miso mash, HEMF was first detected. The pH levels of miso without yeast and with added yeast when HEMF was first detected were 5.59 and 5.57, respectively. It is suggested that the formation of HEMF in miso containing a high concentration of reducing sugar and salt was related to the growth of yeast and started when the pH level fell to less than 5.6.     

Synthesis of (±)-8,16,26,34-Tetrahydroxy-6,10,14,18,24,28,32,36-octaoxohentetracontane as a Potent Synthetic Analog of Race T Toxin Produced by Helminthosporium maydis

A stereoisomeric mixture of (±)-8,16,26,34-tetrahydroxy-6,10,14,18,24,28,32,36-octaoxo-hentetracontane (C₄₁) was synthesized together with (±)-8,16-dihydroxy-6,10,14,18-tetraoxotri-cosane (C₂₃), utilizing bis addition of pentyl-l,5-dimagnesiumbromide to two moles of a C₁₈-alde-hyde.     

Thyroidectomy induces coated pit formation on cerebellar mossy fiber terminals

Summary The influence that thyroid hormones have on the development of the cerebellar cortex is well known. Their absence in adults leads to important functional changes probably related to abnormalities in nerve terminal activity, although no morphological alterations have hitherto been described. Using ultrastructural morphometric methods, we have studied the effects of thyroidectomy on the cerebellar cortex mossy fiber terminals of adult rats with different survival periods. No significant changes in the volume and surface area of these terminals were found. The numbers of synaptic vesicles in groups 7, 15 and 30 days after thyroidectomy were significantly greater than in controls. A significant increase in coated pit formation was found when thyroidectomized groups were compared with controls. This increase is due to the lack of thyroxin since it can be counteracted by thyroxin administration. Whether this increased coated pit formation is a membrane retrieval mechanism or is related to the uptake of extracellular molecules remains to be determined.     

2014 年中国医药市场发展蓝皮书——医疗终端部分（Ⅱ）

介绍了中国的卫生机构状况、2007—2013 年中国药品医疗终端规模，以及中国医院终端化学药和中成药各大类药品市场份额状况，并分别对中国医院终端化学药和中成药各大类重点品种的销售额Top 10 进行了分析。     

酪酸梭菌活菌胶囊治疗慢性末端回肠炎疗效评价

目的观察和评价酪酸梭菌活菌胶囊(商品名:阿泰宁)治疗慢性末端回肠炎的临床疗效。方法采用随机对照研究方法,将入组患者随机分为酪酸梭菌联合甲硝唑组、酪酸梭菌组和甲硝唑组,进行治疗,疗程均为4周。治疗期间观察患者的症状、体征及肠镜下变化,治疗结束后评价药物的疗效。结果酪酸梭菌联合甲硝唑组和酪酸梭菌组总有效率分别为97.5%(39/40)和95%(19/20),且治疗中未见不良反应或副作用。酪酸梭菌联合甲硝唑组和酪酸梭菌组总有效率都高于单用甲硝唑组(P<0.01),酪酸梭菌联合甲硝唑组和酪酸梭菌组之间差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论酪酸梭菌活菌胶囊是治疗慢性末端回肠炎的一种安全有效的微生态药品,其疗效优于单用甲硝唑。     

Eukaryotic picophytoplankton community response to copper enrichment in a metal‐perturbed coastal environment

Copper is an essential micronutrient, especially for photosynthetic organisms, but can be toxic at high concentrations. In the past years, coastal waters have been exposed to an increase in copper concentration due to anthropogenic inputs. One well known case is the Chañaral area (Easter South Pacific coast), where a long term coastal copper enrichment event has occurred. That event strongly affected benthic marine diversity, including microbial communities. In this work, microcosm experiments were carried out to address the changes on picophytoplankton community composition of the disturbed area, when challenged to copper additions. Eukaryotic picophytoplankton communities from two areas were analyzed: one in the most copper‐perturbed area and another at the north edge of the perturbed area. Flow cytometry data showed that 25 μg L^?1 of copper addition exerted a positive effect in the growth kinetics on part of the eukaryotic picophytoplankton communities, independently of the site. 16S‐plastid terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms analysis suggested that eukaryotic picophytoplankton display a short and directional response to high copper levels. Members of the Prasinophyceae class, a Coscinodiscophyceae diatom, as well as Phaeocystis, respond in a short time to the environmental disturbance, making them excellent candidates for further studies to evaluate phytoplanktonic species as sentinels for copper disturbances in coastal marine ecosystems.