Shaping up for action

The Malpighian tubule is the main organ for excretion and osmoregulation in most insects. During a short period of embryonic development the tubules of Drosophila are shaped, undergo differentiation and become precisely positioned in the body cavity, so they become fully functional at the time of larval hatching a few hours later. In this review I explore three developmental events on the path to physiological maturation. First, I examine the molecular and cellular mechanisms that generate organ shape, focusing on the process of cell intercalation that drives tubule elongation, the roles of the cytoskeleton, the extracellular matrix and how intercalation is coordinated at the tissue level. Second, I look at the genetic networks that control the physiological differentiation of tubule cells and consider how distinctive physiological domains in the tubule are patterned. Finally, I explore how the organ is positioned within the body cavity and consider the relationship between organ position and function.     

Alveolar mimics with periodic strain and its effect on the cell layer formation

We report on the development of a new model of alveolar air–tissue interface on a chip. The model consists of an array of suspended hexagonal monolayers of gelatin nanofibers supported by microframes and a microfluidic device for the patch integration. The suspended monolayers are deformed to a central displacement of 40–80 µm at the air–liquid interface by application of air pressure in the range of 200–1,000 Pa. With respect to the diameter of the monolayers, that is, 500 µm, this displacement corresponds to a linear strain of 2–10% in agreement with the physiological strain range in the lung alveoli. The culture of A549 cells on the monolayers for an incubation time of 1–3 days showed viability in the model. We exerted a periodic strain of 5% at a frequency of 0.2 Hz for 1 hr to the cells. We found that the cells were strongly coupled to the nanofibers, but the strain reduced the coupling and induced remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton, which led to a better tissue formation. Our model can serve as a versatile tool in lung investigations such as in inhalation toxicology and therapy.     

Disturbance does not have a significant impact on waders in an estuary close to conurbations: importance of overlap between birds and people in time and space

Disturbance of wildlife is a potential cause of conservation concern, not least to overwintering waders Charadrii inhabiting estuaries close to conurbations where human recreational and economic activities are often concentrated. Disturbance from people on and alongside intertidal foraging areas could make it more difficult for birds to survive until spring in good condition by reducing the time available for foraging, increasing energy requirements and displacing birds to poorer foraging areas. We adopted a two-part approach to testing whether such significant impacts occurred in a Special Protection Area where disturbance risk was high because of its small size and close proximity to conurbations. In part one, we recorded over the whole estuary during stages of the tidal cycle when part or all of the intertidal zone was exposed and so accessible to waders (i.e. on receding, low and advancing tides): (1) the numbers and activities of people on the intertidal flats and on the adjacent land in those places where people were visible to waders in the intertidal zone and (2) the numbers of waders present and disturbed into flight, the flight distance and flight duration in the ‘overlap’ areas where people did disturb waders. People occurred on < 25% of the 938 ha of intertidal flats, but most waders foraged on mudflats, whereas most people were on sandflats. People on land were visible to foraging waders along < 35% of the 16.5 km of shoreline. Waders and people were therefore substantially separated in space. Within overlap areas, people and waders were often frequently separated in time: for example, people on land mostly disturbed waders when only the upper shore levels were exposed. The average overwintering wader spent < 0.1% of its foraging time during daylight flying away from people and the additional energy expenditure was equivalent to < 0.02% of its daily requirements. The comparison made in part two between our study area and two comparable estuaries showed that the number of visits each day to the overlap areas would need to be 29 or 43 times greater for disturbance to have lowered the birds’ body condition and winter survival. Both parts of the study therefore suggested strongly that the amount of disturbance was too trivial to have a significant impact on waders. It is concluded that: (1) to properly assess disturbance risk to waders, both extensive and intensive observations must be made on the behaviour of people and birds to quantify the extent to which they overlap in space and time, and (2) it should not be assumed that an estuary's close proximity to conurbations, and the presence of large numbers of people in the vicinity of the SPA, necessarily implies a significant disturbance risk to waders.     

暗黑菌(Atribacteria)的环境分布和功能特征

暗黑菌门包括OP9和JS1两大分支,成员大多为未培养微生物,在自然环境中广泛分布,并且在部分环境如厌氧海洋沉积物、地热环境以及油藏中为优势微生物。基于基因组信息的研究表明,暗黑菌为严格的厌氧微生物,同时具有降解糖类、小分子酸、短链正构烷烃的能力,在地球碳循环过程中可能扮演着重要的角色。然而,由于缺乏相应代表性的纯培养菌株,对于暗黑菌的生理生化功能推测仍有待验证。文章概述了暗黑菌的发现及发展历史,分析了其环境分布和多样性,简述了目前提出的三种代谢方式,提出了未来暗黑菌的研究发展方向。     

二倍体马铃薯耐盐品种鉴定的生理指标测定

以不同耐盐性的二倍体马铃薯富利亚（Solanum phureja, PHU） 和窄刀薯假stenotomum,STN）杂种（PHU．STN）无性系为材料,在离体条件下用0（对照）、10、20、30mmol·L^-1NaCl进行胁迫处理,测定试管苗叶的电导率、丙二醛和脯氨酸含量,结果表明,随着盐浓度的升高,这3个生理指标的相对值均逐渐升高,耐盐性不同的二倍体马铃薯差异极显著。表明电导率、丙二醛和脯氨酸含量可以作为二倍体马铃薯耐盐性鉴定的生理指标。     

低温对东方百合试管鳞茎解除休眠及生长的影响

以东方百合‘索邦’和‘西伯利亚’鳞片为外植体得到的一代试管小鳞茎为试材,研究0℃冷藏不同时间对试管鳞茎生理指标变化,以及试管鳞茎解除休眠和移栽后生长发育的影响。结果表明,冷藏0--28dN,随着冷藏时间的延长,试管鳞茎出苗率逐渐增加,冷藏处理28d达到最高,之后逐渐降低。冷藏期间,试管鳞茎中淀粉含量持续降低,而可溶性总糖和还原性糖含量表现出先升高后下降的趋势,冷藏处理28d的含量最高。同时,随着冷藏时间的延长,IAA和ZR含量逐渐升高,ABA含量逐渐下降,而GA。含量表现出先上升后下降的趋势,并且也在冷藏处理28dN-含量达到峰值。另外,采用隶属函数值对低温处理的试管苗栽培1年后所收获种球的数量、质量等指标进行评价,结果显示,均以低温处理28d时达到最大值。由此得出,0℃低温处理试管小鳞茎28d为解除休眠及促进生长发育的最适处理时间。     

Effect of Chronic Caloric Restriction on the Circadian Regulation of Physiological and Behavioral Variables in Old Male B6C3F1 Mice

The circadian rhythms of food and water consumption, the number of feeding and drinking episodes, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, respiratory quotient, gross motor activity, and body temperature were measured in male B6C3F, mice that were fed ad libitum (AL) or fed a caloric-restricted diet (CR). The CR regimen (60% of the normal AL consumption) was fed to mice during the daytime (5 hr after lights on). CR animals exhibited fewer feeding episodes but consumed more food per feeding bout and spent more total time feeding than AL mice. It appears that CR caused mice to change from their normal “nibbling behavior” to meal feeding. Compared to AL animals, the mean body temperature was reduced in CR animals, while the amplitude of the body temperature rhythm was increased. Spans of reduced activity, metabolism, and body temperature (torpor) occurred in CR mice for several hours immediately before feeding, during times of high fatty acid metabolism (low RQ). The acute availability of exogenous substrates (energy supplies) seemed to modulate metabolism shifting metabolic pathways to promote energy efficiency. CR was also associated with lower DNA damage, higher DNA repair, and decreased proto-oncogene expression. Most of the circadian rhythms studied seemed to be synchronized primarily to the feeding rather than the photoperiod cycle. Night-time CR feeding was found to be better than daytime feeding because the circadian rhythms for AL and CR animals were highly synchronized when this regimen was used.     

Circadian Time Organization of Professional Firemen: Desynchronization—Tau Differing from 24.0 Hours—Documented by Longitudinal Self-assessment of 16 Variables

We investigated the circadian synchronization/desynchronization (by field-study assessment of differences in period, τ, of 16 coexisting and well-documented rhythms) of 30 healthy firemen (FM) exposed to irregular, difficult, and stressful nocturnal work hours who demonstrated excellent clinical tolerance (allochronism). Three groups of FM were studied (A?=?12 FM on 24-h duty at the fire station; B?=?9 FM on 24-h duty at the emergency call center; C?=?9 day-shift administrative FM) of mostly comparable average age, body mass index, career duration, chronotype—morningness/eveningness, and trait of field dependence/independence. The self-assessed 16 circadian rhythms were (i) physiological ones of sleep-wake (sleep log), activity-rest (actography), body temperature (internal transmitter pill probe), right- and left-hand grip strength (hand dynamometer), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) plus heart rate (ambulatory BP monitoring device); (ii) psychological ones (visual analog self-rating scales) of sleepiness, fatigue, fitness for work, and capacity to cope with aggressive social behavior; and (iii) cognitive ones of eye-hand skill and letter cancellation, entailing performance speed (tasks completed/unit time) and accuracy (errors). Data (4–6 time points/24?h; 2 591 480 values in total) were gathered continuously throughout two 8-d spans, one in winter 2010–2011 and one in summer 2011. Each of the resulting 938 unequal-interval time series was analyzed by a special power spectrum analysis to objectively determine the prominent τ. The desynchronization ratio (DR: number of study variables with τ?=?24.0?h/number of study variables?×?100) served to ascertain the strength/weakness of each rhythm per individual, group, and season. The field study confirmed, independent of group and season, coexistence of rather strong and weak circadian oscillators. Interindividual differences in DR were detected between groups and seasons (χ², correlation tests, analysis of variance [ANOVA]). Moreover, in each group, both in winter and summer, a normal distribution was observed in the number of FM with rhythms with τ?=?24.0?h, e.g., ranging from 5/16 (large desynchronization) to 16/16 (no desynchronization). Such a normal distribution with intraindividual stability over time (i.e., seasons) is consistent with the hypothesis of an inherited origin of a differential propensity to circadian desynchronization and which is supported by the distribution of τs in winter and summer following the Dian-Circadian Genetic Model, i.e., with τ?=?24.0?h, τ?=?24.0?h?+?n(0.8?h), and τ?=?24.0?h???n(0.8?h).