Morbidity of Chagas heart disease in the microregion of Rio Negro,Amazonian Brazil: a case-control study

A case-control study on the morbidity of Chagas heart disease was carried out in the municipality of Barcelos in the microregion of the Rio Negro, state of Amazonas. One hundred and six individuals, who were serologically positive for Trypanosoma cruzi infection, as confirmed by at least two techniques with different principles, were matched according to age and sex with an equal number of seronegative individuals. The cases and controls were evaluated using an epidemiological questionnaire and clinical, electrocardiograph and echocardiograph examinations. In the seroepidemiological evaluation, 62% of the interviewees recognised triatomines and most of them confirmed that they had seen these insects in the piassava plantations of the riverside communities of the Negro River tributaries. Of the seropositive patients, 25.8% affirmed that they had been stung by the triatomines and 11.7% denied having been stung. The principal clinical manifestations of the seropositive individuals were palpitations, chest pain and dyspnoea upon effort. Cardiac auscultation revealed extrasystoles, bradycardia and systolic murmurs. The electrocardiographic alterations were ventricular extrasystoles, left and right bundle branch block, atrioventricular block and primary T wave alterations. The echocardiogram was altered in 22.6% of the seropositive individuals and in 8.5% of the seronegative individuals.     

Pollen morphology in the genus Veronica L. (Plantaginaceae) and its systematic significance

Pollen grains of 30, mainly annual, species from 134 populations of the genus Veronica (Plantaginaceae, formerly Scrophulariaceae) from the Mediterranean Region, have been studied with light and scanning electron microscopy. Three pollen types are defined based on pollen size and exine surface sculpture. In some cases within the study group pollen size can be useful in species determination. Hypothetical relationships of pollen grain size and aperture number with ploidy level, style length and corolla diameter are discussed. The ornamentation of the exine in Veronica, although generally a conservative character within the genus, gives some additional support to the most recent infrageneric classification of Veronica.     

三江源牧户参与草地生态保护的意愿

牧民对环境保护的响应是生态保护战略有效实施的关键,主体参与意愿直接影响生态保护项目实施的成效和可持续性,是区域生态经济可持续发展的前提。通过对三江源地区约283户藏族牧民通过翻译进行结构式访谈,采用Logistic模型从主体角度探讨了牧户愿意参与生态保护行为响应的主要影响因素。结果表明:(1)三江源区域约87%的牧户认为生态保护对牧户有好处,但受各种内外部因素的影响只有近70%的牧户是在政府主导下基于有限理性而被动的参与生态保护行为响应。(2)三江源牧户参与生态保护行为响应的意愿主要受当地政府的保护力度及牧户对生态保护外部性的认知水平、生计水平、外界接触程度、工作机会的正影响,并受牧户的年龄、离中心城镇的距离和区域气候恶劣情况等因素的负影响,系数依次为:2.22、3.98、1.93、2.26、1.48、-1.63、-2.43、-0.92。(3)牧户的生计水平、退化感知和外部性认知是影响三江源牧户参与生态保护意愿的关键因素,牧户参与生态保护意愿的概率不仅仅是牧户出于自身利益和未知风险考虑下被动的响应,更是当地政府的环境知识宣传和保护投入影响下个体的抉择结果。(4)创造更多的就业机会和解决牧户的单一化生计问题,构建完善地生态补偿机制让牧户分享生态保护的外部性效益,并激励牧户主动参与生态保护行为响应,才能最终实现区域生态保护、牧户幸福和生态经济可持续发展的多赢局面。     

Coexistence of two congeneric tree species of Lauraceae in a secondary warm‐temperate forest on Miyajima Island,south‐western Japan

We analyzed the spatial distributions of two congeneric tree species, Neolistea aciculata and Neolistea sericea (Lauraceae), in a warm‐temperate forest on Miyajima Island, south‐western Japan. Both species were mainly found in valley sites on the island. Hence, these species shared the same topographic habitat niche. However, we found a clear difference between the spatial distributions of the two species in relation to the light environment. Neolistea aciculata was predominantly found in stands with low light, such as beneath the canopy of dense evergreen broadleaved forest. In contrast, N. sericea was predominantly associated with ample light, such as in secondary Pinus densiflora forest. In stands with moderate light conditions, both species were found. This habitat niche segregation in relation to light conditions presumably allows the coexistence of these two species in the predominantly successional forest on Miyajima Island.     

蒙新区草盲蝽复合组昆虫区系初步分析

对蒙新区草盲蝽复合组昆虫标本鉴定和资料整理,共得到5属34种。其中,种类最多的是草盲蝽属Lygus13种(38.24%),占绝对优势。在世界动物地理区划中,蒙新区草盲蝽复合组昆虫以古北界为主,种数占15种(44.12%)。在中国动物地理区划中,草盲蝽复合组单独分布于蒙新区的物种有8种,约占物种总数的1/4(23.54%),其次是蒙新区与华北区共有5种(14.72%),蒙新区与东北区共有3种(8.82%),其它动物区系分布的物种均较少。在蒙新区动物地理区划中,蒙新区草盲蝽复合组昆虫以西部荒漠亚区种数最多,共14种(41.18%),其次为东部草原亚区和西部荒漠亚区共有9种(26.47%)。     

Gs蛋白alpha亚基与毒性多结节性甲状腺肿自主功能性的研究

目的：检测TMG (毒性多结节性甲状腺肿：Toxic Multinodular Goiter) 患者甲状腺细胞中的Gs琢基因突变情况,讨论其与 TMG 细胞自主功能性的关系。方法：将16 例TMG 患者手术切除标本中甲状腺结节组织及其作为对照组的结节周围正常的甲状 腺组织,分别于光镜电镜下观察细胞行为,提取DNA,对目的基因片段进行扩增聚合酶链反应(PCR)反应及DNA测序分析。结果： 于光镜及电镜下可观察到TMG细胞的滤泡大小不等,滤泡上皮呈高柱状,增生明显,粗面内质网高度扩张,高尔基体发达,核糖 体丰富,呈高功能状态。16 例TMG 标本中,5 例发现第10 外显子点突变,其中：2 例为第274 位的赖氨酸密码子AAG的第一个 碱基A的缺失,使对应赖氨酸表达异常,3 例为第279 位的天冬酰胺的密码子AAC 的第一个碱基A 的缺失,对应天冬氨酸表达 异常。对照组未发现Gs琢基因突变。结论：TMG 患者Gsalpha基因突变可导致Gs琢/TSHR/cAMP 信号通路异常,使细胞产生自主高功 能状态,是导致TMG 自主功能性发生的重要因素。     

Piophila megastigmata McAlpine 1978 (Diptera: Piophilidae): the first record from northern Africa of this forensically relevant fly

Piophila megastigmata McAlpine (Diptera: Piophilidae) is recorded for the first time from Algeria, northern Africa. This is the first Palaearctic record of the species outside the Iberian Peninsula, and the only record from Africa apart from its type locality in eastern South Africa. The current report extends significantly the known distribution in the Palaearctic Region of a species of forensic interest and of potential economic importance as a food pest.     

由任务驱动的团队自主合作学习教学模式在微生物学课程中的探索和实践

为了提高学生的自主学习及合作学习能力,在微生物学教学中,采取由任务驱动的团队自主合作学习教学模式。该模式以任务为主线,把教学内容和能力培养目标隐含在任务之中;以教师为主导,引导学生主体利用学习资源,通过个人自主学习及团队合作学习来建构知识和提升能力。三轮教学实践表明,由任务驱动的团队自主合作学习教学模式,激发了学生的学习积极性,培养了学生的综合能力和创新意识,也促进了教师教学水平的提高。     

宁夏黄河流域景观破碎化时空变化特征

基于RS和GIS技术,以土地利用数据为基础,采用有效粒度尺寸对宁夏黄河流域1985年和2010年的景观破碎化进行时空变化分析。结果显示:流域整体的有效粒度尺寸(meff)从1985年的6326.62 km2下降到2010年的2974.32 km2,破碎化程度呈显著加剧变化;从流域内部来看,景观破碎化程度最大的是黄左区间,破碎化程度最小的是苦水河和红柳沟;除引黄区间外,其余分区景观破碎化程度在25年间均有所加剧。特征尺度分析结果显示研究区景观破碎化空间变异分析的合适尺度为4500 m;景观破碎化指数的空间变异结果表明破碎化程度较大的区域面积明显多于破碎化程度弱的区域,景观破碎化空间异质性在25年间表现出明显的上升趋势。在海拔背景条件下,2400 m以下区域的景观破碎化程度较高,2400m以上区域破碎化程度较低,且随海拔的升高有降低的趋势;流域景观破碎化受人为干扰影响强烈,在人为干扰较强的1000—1500 m区段的景观破碎化程度最大;景观破碎化在时间上的变化受人为干扰影响产生的变化最为显著,由自然条件改变产生的影响有限。研究结果可为西北地区景观格局及景观破碎化的研究提供参考,并为区域景观格局优化和土地的有效管理提供依据。