Validation of a rodent model of source memory

Source memory represents the origin (source) of information. Recently, we proposed that rats (Rattus norvegicus) remember the source of information. However, an alternative to source memory is the possibility that rats selectively encoded some, but not all, information rather than retrieving an episodic memory. We directly tested this ‘encoding failure’ hypothesis. Here, we show that rats remember the source of information, under conditions that cannot be attributed to encoding failure. Moreover, source memory lasted at least seven days but was no longer present 14 days after studying. Our findings suggest that long-lasting source memory may be modelled in non-humans. Our model should facilitate attempts to elucidate the biological underpinnings of source memory impairments in human memory disorders such as Alzheimer''s disease.     

Neural networks and REM sleep

The nature of certain forms of memory is discussed in relation to neural networks and REM sleep.     

深切缅怀陈世骧先生,加快发展我国系统昆虫学--纪念陈世骧先生诞辰100周年

今年11月5日是我国已故著名昆虫学家陈世骧院士诞辰100周年纪念日.陈世骧先生是著名的生物学家、昆虫学家、进化分类理论家.40年前,在陈世骧先生等老一辈动物分类学家们的努力下,<动物分类学报>得以创刊.1964-1979年陈先生一直担任<动物分类学报>主编,为学报的成长与发展及我国动物分类学事业的发展与知识普及做出了突出贡献.值此之际,我们借本文对陈世骧先生的主要学术贡献进行简要回顾,以表达我们对陈先生的缅怀之情,同时也希望国内的系统昆虫学工作者(特别是年轻一代的系统昆虫学工作者)能向陈先生学习,努力开创我国系统昆虫学研究的新局面.     

小鸡早期记忆形成的神经机制

小鸡是研究早期记忆形成机制的理想动物模型.一日龄小鸡在一次性被动回避实验（one-trial-passive-avoidance-test）后,与记忆形成相关脑区的神经元在时间和空间上发生了一系列复杂的生理生化反应.综述了小鸡记忆形成过程的最新研究进展,分析了与记忆形成相关的神经回路、细胞和分子机制.     

Conservation and versatility of a new set of primers for long‐PCR amplification of complete insect mitochondrial genomes based on Haematobia irritans mtDNA sequences

The amplification of complete mitochondrial genomes by long PCR (polymerase chain reaction) has been a major contribution to the large‐scale sequencing of arthropodan mitochondrial genomes. In this work, we designed six conserved long‐PCR primers to successfully recover the entire mitochondrial genome of the horn fly Haematobia irritans (Diptera: Muscidae) in two overlapping fragments. The conservation and versatility of these primers were tested for 17 other species from four major insect orders: Diptera (14), Coleoptera (1), Lepidoptera (1) and Hymenoptera (1). The amplification of complete mitochondrial genomes in orders other than Diptera suggested an even broader application of these primers, especially within the Hexapoda.     

Synthesis and activity of 2-oxoamides containing long chain beta-amino acids.

2-Oxoamides based on long chain beta-amino acids were synthesized. 1-Benzyl substituted long chain amines, needed for such synthesis, were synthesized starting from Boc-phenylalaninol. The oxidative conversion of a phenyl group to a carboxyl group was used as the key transformation synthetic step. The compounds synthesized were studied for their activity against GIVA PLA(2), and were proven to be weak inhibitors.     

KCNQ1基因及其编码钾通道的研究概况

本文介绍了KCNQ1基因和其编码的通道蛋白的结构、生理学功能及电生理特点。归纳了围绕KCNQ1基因的热点研究方向和成果,并展望了未来的研究趋势。对基础医学上关心的KCNQ1基因突变与疾病的关系,及相关的病理药理学研究做了较为详细的介绍。     

慢性复合应激对大鼠学习和记忆及海马神经元神经颗粒素表达的影响

目的探讨慢性复合应激对大鼠学习和记忆功能及海马内神经元神经颗粒素(neurogranin,Ng)表达的影响。方法成年雄性Wistar大鼠随机分为对照组和复合应激组,复合应激组动物每天无规律交替暴露于复合应激原环境中,为期6周。应激结束后,用Morris水迷宫测试大鼠空间学习和记忆成绩,同时用免疫组织化学方法观察海马各亚区Ng表达的变化,并用RT-PCR技术分析各组大鼠海马Ng mRNA水平的变化。结果Morris水迷宫测试显示,应激组动物寻找隐蔽平台潜伏期明显短于对照组(P<0.05);应激组大鼠海马DG和CA3区Ng的蛋白表达水平明显高于对照组(P<0.05),而两组海马CA1区的Ng的免疫反应性无明显差别;与对照组相比,应激组动物的Ng mRNA水平亦明显上调(P<0.05)。结论慢性复合性应激大鼠的学习与记忆能力增强;Ng在海马中的表达和Ng mRNA转录水平增高,提示Ng参与了该增强机制。     

Finding a suitable system scale to optimize program performance on software DSM systems

Recently, software distributed shared memory systems have successfully provided an easy user interface to parallel user applications on distributed systems. In order to prompt program performance, most of DSM systems usually were greedy to utilize all of available processors in a computer network to execute user programs. However, using more processors to execute programs cannot necessarily guarantee to obtain better program performance. The overhead of paralleling programs is increased by the addition in the number of processors used for program execution. If the performance gain from program parallel cannot compensate for the overhead, increasing the number of execution processors will result in performance degradation and resource waste. In this paper, we proposed a mechanism to dynamically find a suitable system scale to optimize performance for DSM applications according to run-time information. The experimental results show that the proposed mechanism can precisely predict the processor number that will result in the best performance and then effectively optimize the performance of the test applications by adapting system scale according to the predicted result. Yi-Chang Zhuang received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from National Cheng Kung University in 1995, 1997, and 2004. He is currently working as an engineer at Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan. His research interests include object-based storage, file systems, distributed systems, and grid computing. Jyh-Biau Chang is currently an assistant professor at the Information Management Department of Leader University in Taiwan. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Electrical Engineering Department of National Cheng Kung University in 1994, 1996, and 2005. His research interest is focused on cluster and grid computing, parallel and distributed system, and operating system. Tyng-Yeu Liang is currently an assistant professor who teaches and studies at Department of Electrical Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences in Taiwan. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from National Cheng Kung University in 1992, 1994, and 2000. His study is interested in cluster and grid computing, image processing and multimedia. Ce-Kuen Shieh currently is a professor at the Electrical Engineering Department of National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. He is also the chief of computation center at National Cheng Kung University. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering of National Cheng Kung University in 1988. He was the chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department of National Cheng Kung University from 2002 to 2005. His research interest is focused on computer network, and parallel and distributed system. Laurence T. Yang is a professor at the Department of Computer Science, St. Francis Xavier University, Canada. His research includes high performance computing and networking, embedded systems, ubiquitous/pervasive computing and intelligence, and autonomic and trusted computing.