A new species of Characidium (Characiformes: Crenuchidae) from the rio Madeira basin,Brazil

This study describes Characidium nambiquara, a new species from the upper rio Guaporé, rio Madeira basin, Brazil. The new species differs from most congeners by the presence of isthmus and area between the contralateral pectoral-fin bases completely naked. From congeners with some degree of scaleless ventral surface of the body C. nambiquara differs by having 10 circumpeduncular scales. The new species is also distinguished from congeners by the spotted colour pattern on body of the large-sized specimens and by having black dashes on all fins and conspicuous midlateral longitudinal dark stripe or conspicuous vertical bars absent. Characidium nambiquara further differs from most congeners by the presence of 34–36 pored scales on the lateral line, 3 horizontal scale rows above the lateral line and 3 horizontal scale rows from the lateral line to the midventral scale series. Remarks on intraspecific colour variation within the genus, not related to sexual dimorphism, are also provided.     

Cryopreservation of heat-shocked canine adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells with 10% dimethyl sulfoxide and 40% serum results in better viability,proliferation, anti-oxidation,and in-vitro differentiation

Cryopreserved canine adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (Ad-MSCs) can be used instantly in dogs for clinical uses. However, cryopreservation results in a reduction of the cellular viability, proliferation, and anti-oxidation of post-thawed Ad-MSCs. Therefore, there is a need for in-vitro procedure to improve post-thawed Ad-MSCs’ viability, proliferation, anti-oxidation, and differentiation capacity. In this study, fresh-Ad-MSCs were activated with heat shock, hypoxia (5% O₂), or hypoxia (5% O₂) + heat shock treatments. The results showed that compared to the other treatments, heat shock significantly improved the proliferation rate, anti-oxidation, heat shock proteins and growth factors expressions of canine-fresh-Ad-MSCs. Consequently, fresh-Ad-MSCs were heat-shocked and then cryopreserved with different combinations of dimethyl sulfoxide (Me₂SO) and fetal bovine serum (FBS) to determine the combination that could effectively preserve the cellular viability, proliferation, anti-oxidation and differentiation capacity of Ad-MSCs after cryopreservation. We found that C-HST-Ad-MSCs cryopreserved with 10% Me₂SO + 40% FBS presented significantly (p < 0.05) improved cellular viability, proliferation rate, anti-oxidant capacity, and differentiation potential as compared to C-HST-Ad-MSCs cryopreserved with 1% Me₂SO + 10% FBS or 1% Me₂SO alone or control. We concluded, heat shock treatment is much better to enhance the characteristics of fresh-Ad-MSCs than other treatments, moreover, C-HST-Ad-MSCs in 10% Me₂SO + 40% FBS showed better results compared to other cryopreserved groups. However, future work is required to optimize the expression of heat shock proteins, which would further improve the characteristics of fresh- and cryopreserved-HST-Ad-MSCs and reduce the dependency on Me₂SO and FBS.     

人睫状神经营养因子的原核表达,纯化及其生物效应

人睫状神经营养因子（ｈＣＮＴＦ）克隆入ｐＢＶ２２０中，在ＤＨ５α菌株中表达，重组蛋白以包含体的形式存在，表达量为菌体总蛋白的５０％左右。经比较发现用２ｍｏｌ／Ｌ脲洗涤包含体可溶解大量可溶性细菌蛋白，且包含体损失较小。在高浓度变性剂条件下进行ｓｅｐｈａｒｃｙｌＳ－２００凝胶过滤，解决了纯化中ｈＣＮＴＦ易聚合的问题，在低浓度变性剂条件下进行ＤＥＡＥ离子交换，有利于蛋白活性的保持。经两步纯化后得到均一性ｈＣＮＴＦ，纯度达９５％以上。在自然状态下使ｈＣＮＴＦ复性。纯化复性后的ｈＣＮＴＦ对无血清培养的鸡胚背根节神经元和脊髓腹角运动神经元有明显的维持存活和促进生长发育的生物效应。     

Disregulation in TH1 and TH2 subsets of CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood of colorectal cancer patients and involvement in cancer establishment and progression

 Recent theories have established that, during an ongoing immune response, the lymphokines produced by TH1 and TH2 subsets of CD4⁺ T cells are critical to the effectiveness of that response. In vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that the type of environmental cytokines plays a determinant role in directing the development of naive T cells into TH1 or TH2 effector cells. Disregulated expansion of one or other subset may contribute to the development of certain diseases. To establish whether a similar situation might exist in the cells of the peripheral blood (PBMC) of colorectal cancer patients, we have performed immunological studies on a group of patients and a group of healthy subjects. We examined the interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon γ (IFNγ), IL-4, IL-6 and tumour necrosis factor α levels in serum; the production of IL-4 and IL-2, with and without activating agents, by PBMC, tumour-draining lymph node lymphocytes and tumour cells; and the proliferative response of PBMC to IL-2, IL-4 and anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (anti-CD3), which were variously combined. The data of the present study lead us to hypothesize that, because of suppressive effects probably due to environmental IL-4, in the peripheral blood of patients there seems to be a disregulation in the functionality of TH1 and TH2 subsets of CD4⁺ T cells, with an expansion in TH2 and a malfunction in TH1 cells. Moreover it seems that this disregulation increases with as the disease progresses through the stages, suggesting that it can be directly implicated in the mechanisms that allow the tumour to locate and progress in the host. Received: 27 June 1995 / Accepted: 13 November 1995     

Increase of cyclin B by overexpression of cystatin α

Degradation of cyclin B was effectively suppressed when cells were treated with ALLN (N-acetylleucylleucylnorleucinal) which inhibits proteasome, calpain and cysteine proteinase cathepsins. In order to examine which protease degrades cyclin B, the effect of a cathepsin inhibitor, cystatin α, was investigated. The cystatin α gene was inserted into an inducible expression vector, pMSG, and transfected into NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts. The expression of cystatin α was induced effectively in the transfected cells after treatment with dexamethasone. Overexpression of cystatin α resulted in an increase of the amount of cyclin B, suggesting that cysteine proteinase cathepsins might be involved in the degradation of cyclin B.     

Dance education in Singapore: Policy,discourse, and practice

This article provides an overview of dance education in schools in Singapore with regard to physical education, co-curricular activity, initiatives by the National Arts Council's Arts Education unit, and pre-tertiary and tertiary dance programs. In an effort to gain a better understanding of how well the official discourse and the reality of schooling in dance interconnect, a meta-analysis of published articles, conference papers, committee reports, and curricula was conducted. Situated within the larger sociocultural, political, and historical contexts, Singapore presents a curious case for probing the merits and limitations of research, policy initiatives, and policy implementation. In the conclusion, the author argues that the development of a coherent dance education in Singapore requires “fixing” three dilemmas—meritocratic schooling in dance, the ill-defined and exhaustive use of the term “talent,” and the uneven research that has not kept pace with the policy initiatives.     

Ecological and environmental effects of land use change in rapid urbanization: The case of hangzhou,China

Land use changes sharply under rapid urbanization, yet its ecological and environmental effects are often neglected in land use decisions. Using the case of Hangzhou, China, we analyze the ecological and environmental effects of land use changes, including ecosystem services value (ESV) and carbon emissions, based on Landsat TM images from 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2014. We found significant ecological and environmental effects of land use changes under rapid urbanization. The value of ecosystem services in Hangzhou decreased from 546.7 million USD in 1995 to 448.97 million USD in 2014, and the ratio of ESV to GDP decreased from 5.8% to 0.6%. The net carbon emissions associated with land use changes increased from 4.26 million tons in 1995 to 15.10 million tons in 2014, mainly due to the increase of built-up land carbon emissions and the decrease of forest land carbon sink. The ESV is unevenly distributed spatially and low ESV spread from the central to the peripheral area. We use scenario analysis to illustrate that economic growth and environmental protection could be coordinated by bringing ecological and environmental effects into land use decisions.