右室间隔部起搏患者起搏QRS 波时限与心功能的关系

目的:探讨右室间隔部起搏患者起搏QRS波时限与心功能的关系。方法:回顾性分析植入右室间隔部起搏的双腔起搏器患者(111例),起搏器平均植入时间(4.52±3.65)年,通过常规体表心电图测得完全起搏时QRS波时限分为四组:A组为QRS≤120ms(21例);B组为120ms180ms(26例),行心脏彩色多普勒检查获取左房内径(LAD)、收缩末期左室内径(LVESD)、舒张末期左室内径(LVEDD)、室间隔厚度(IVST)、左室后壁厚度(LVPWT)及LVEF,同时检测患者的血清氨基末端脑肭肽前体(NT-proBNP),分析起搏QRS波时限与以上各指标的关系。结果:D组患者LAD、LVEDD、LVESD、IVST及IVPWT较其他三组明显增大,同时LVEF显著下降,NT-proBNP明显升高,有统计学意义(P<0.05)。同时发现随起搏QRS时限的不断增宽,不同组别的LVEF是依次降低(中位值分别为66.5%、60.3%、52.7%和45.8%),而血清NT-proBNP水平是依次增大(中位值分别为143.7 pg/ml、261.8 pg/ml、599.4 pg/m和971.2 pg/ml)。直线相关性分析示起搏QRS波时限与LAD(r=0.141,P<0.05)、LVEDd(r=0.678,P<0.05)、LVEDs(r=0.439,P<0.05)、IVST(r=0.165,P<0.05)及LVPWT(r=0.189,P<0.05)有显著线性关系,呈正相关。起搏QRS波时限与LVEF负相关(r=-0.684,P<0.05),起搏QRS波时限与NT-proBNP的对数正相关(r=0.368,P=0.029)。结论:对于右室间隔部起搏的双腔起搏患者,起搏QRS波时限是一个可初步判断心脏结构和功能的指标,其起搏QRS波时限延长可能会恶化患者的心脏结构及功能,可结合NT-proBNP进行动态观察,对起搏器植入患者的心功能恶化和心衰的预防有一定的临床实用价值。     

Intra-specific variation in the morphology and the benefit of large genital sclerites of males in the adzuki bean beetle (Callosobruchus chinensis)

Rapid evolution has led to a large diversity in the sizes and morphology of male genitals across taxa, but the mechanisms driving this evolution remain controversial. In this study, we investigated the function of male genital sclerites in the adzuki bean beetle (Callosobruchus chinensis) and compared the length and morphology of genital sclerites between two populations that vary in their degree of polyandry. We found that the length of male genital sclerites was negatively correlated with copulation duration but positively correlated with the speed of matings with multiple females. Additionally, we found that the average length and number of genital sclerite spines of males from the more polyandrous population were larger than those from the less polyandrous population. We suggest that the genital sclerite of male adzuki bean beetles evolved by sexual selection, and a larger genital sclerite has a selective advantage because it allows for rapid copulations with multiple females.     

杓兰属植物的开花和结实动态

作为被子植物中最进化的类群,兰科植物的开花和结实动态对制定其保护策略具有重要意义。利用20032007年的数据,对分布于四川黄龙寺自然保护区的5种杓兰的种群开花和结实动态进行了分析。结果表明所研究的所有杓兰种类均是自交亲和物种,但在自然条件下都必须依赖传粉媒介才能成功结实。尽管不同种类的杓兰植物具有不同的开花时间,但统计分析表明杓兰属植物的开花早晚与其结实率之间相关性并不显著,这可能因为不同的杓兰具有不同的传粉系统而导致的。而杓兰属植物的花期长短与结实率之间却呈显著的负相关,这可能是与杓兰属植物具有典型的欺骗性传粉系统相关的。另外,除绿花杓兰外,其他4种杓兰2003年的结实率明显高于20042007年间的结实率。而2003年一个突出的事件即是发生了SARS导致游客人数显著减少,暗示了人为活动对杓兰属植物成功结实具有比较大的影响。     

温度对马铃薯甲虫生长发育的影响

为了进一步明确温度对马铃薯甲虫Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)生长发育的影响, 在恒温条件, 研究了温度对马铃薯甲虫实验种群生长发育的影响。结果表明：温度对马铃薯甲虫各虫态的发育历期、存活率及种群的繁殖力有显著的影响。发育历期随温度的升高而缩短, 发育速率与温度呈显著的正相关。马铃薯甲虫世代存活率由大到小的顺序为27℃＞23℃＞19℃＞31℃＞15℃。27℃时成虫的产卵量最高, 单雌平均卵量为729.7粒;其次为23℃, 单雌平均卵量为639.2粒。并测得马铃薯甲虫卵、1龄幼虫、2龄幼虫、3龄幼虫、4龄幼虫、幼虫期、蛹期及全世代的发育起点温度分别为9.14, 10.50, 8.17, 10.28, 9.04, 9.59, 10.23和10.90℃, 有效积温分别为73.26, 43.22, 39.23, 34.05, 161.97, 273.02, 100.38和542.58日·度。据此认为温度对马铃薯甲虫实验种群的生长发育、存活和繁殖影响明显。     

Convenient and simple homologation of Nα-urethane protected α-amino acids to their β-homologues with concomitant pentafluorophenyl ester formation

Summary The Wolff rearrangement of α-aminodiazoketones derived fromN ^α-urethane protected α-amino acids in the presence of pentafluorophenol catalyzed by silver acetate at low temperature results in the homologation of Fmoc-/Boc-/Z-α-amino acids to β-amino acids with concomitant formation of the corresponding pentafluorophenyl esters in good yield and purity.     

Encoding repetition rate and duration in the inferior colliculus of the big brown bat,Eptesicus fuscus

1. Encoding of temporal stimulus parameters by inferior collicular (IC) neurons of Eptesicus fuscus was studied by recording their responses to a wide range of repetition rates (RRs) and durations at several stimulus intensities under free field stimulus conditions. 2. The response properties of 424 IC neurons recorded were similar to those reported in previous studies of this species. 3. IC neurons were classified as low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass according to their preference for RRs and/or durations characteristic of, respectively, search, approach, or terminal phases of echolocation. These neurons selectively process stimuli characteristic of the various phases of hunting. 4. Best RRs and best durations were not correlated with either the BFs or recording depths This suggests that each isofrequency lamina is capable of processing RRs and durations of all hunting phases. 5. Responses of one half of IC neurons studied were correlated with the stimulus duty cycle. These neurons may preferentially process terminal phase information when the bat's pulse emission duty cycle increases. 6. While the stimulus RR affected the dynamic range and overall profile of the intensity rate function, only little effect was observed with different stimulus durations.     

Responses of plant phenology to nitrogen addition: a meta‐analysis

Phenology is one of the most sensitive processes of plant in response to global change. Anthropogenic activities have considerably increased nitrogen (N) deposition, which significant affects plant phenology. Although numerous individual studies have been conducted, it remains controversial how N addition affects phenological stages, and a comprehensive understanding of how plant phenology responds to external N inputs remains elusive. To reconcile the differences, we conducted a meta‐analysis of 117 species to examine the responses of plant phenology to N addition in terrestrial ecosystems, and assessed variations in their responses in relation to ecosystem types, functional groups, and environmental conditions. Our results showed that plant phenology changed significantly after N addition, and phenology time delayed and phenology duration shortened significantly across all biomes except fruiting duration, but varied with biome types. The phenology change in cropland was more dramatical than in grassland after N addition, even in opposite directions. The response of phenological stages to N addition was consistent in two pollination types except the flowering time, the flowering time had no change in anemophilous but significantly delayed in entomophilous. In addition, the response of phenology to N addition was discrepancy among functional groups, the phenology time advanced and duration shortened in sedge, while phenology time delayed and duration shortened in other groups, and the phenology change in legume was larger than grass and forbs. We also found that environmental factors had little effects on the response of plant phenology to N addition, but significant correlation was found between the response ratios of different phenological stages. Our study suggested that phenology was sensitive to N deposition at many phenological stages, and changes in phenology may be smaller with community biodiversity increasing at ecosystem level.     

Relative efficiency of pitfall trapping and hand-collecting from plots for sampling of millipedes

Millipedes were sampled by hand-collecting from plots and by pitfall trapping at three forest sites in central Tasmania. Seven days of pitfall trapping each month over one year was less efficient than four weeks of hand-collecting in autumn, yielding fewer species and fewer specimens per working day in the field. Hand-collecting is likely to provide more accurate data on species diversity and relative abundance for a range of litter invertebrates.     

Structure of the HIV-1 Full-Length Capsid Protein in a Conformationally Trapped Unassembled State Induced by Small-Molecule Binding

The capsid (CA) protein plays crucial roles in HIV infection and replication, essential to viral maturation. The absence of high-resolution structural data on unassembled CA hinders the development of antivirals effective in inhibiting assembly. Unlike enzymes that have targetable, functional substrate-binding sites, the CA does not have a known site that affects catalytic or other innate activity, which can be more readily targeted in drug development efforts. We report the crystal structure of the HIV-1 CA, revealing the domain organization in the context of the wild-type full-length (FL) unassembled CA. The FL CA adopts an antiparallel dimer configuration, exhibiting a domain organization sterically incompatible with capsid assembly. A small compound, generated in situ during crystallization, is bound tightly at a hinge site (“H site”), indicating that binding at this interdomain region stabilizes the ADP conformation. Electron microscopy studies on nascent crystals reveal both dimeric and hexameric lattices coexisting within a single condition, in agreement with the interconvertibility of oligomeric forms and supporting the feasibility of promoting assembly-incompetent dimeric states. Solution characterization in the presence of the H-site ligand shows predominantly unassembled dimeric CA, even under conditions that promote assembly. Our structure elucidation of the HIV-1 FL CA and characterization of a potential allosteric binding site provides three-dimensional views of an assembly-defective conformation, a state targeted in, and thus directly relevant to, inhibitor development. Based on our findings, we propose an unprecedented means of preventing CA assembly, by “conformationally trapping” CA in assembly-incompetent conformational states induced by H-site binding.     

Torsion of the human left ventricle: experimental analysis and computational modeling

We set a twofold investigation: we assess left ventricular (LV) rotation and twist in the human heart through 3D-echocardiographic speckle tracking, and use representative experimental data as benchmark with respect to numerical results obtained by solving our mechanical model of the LV. We aim at new insight into the relationships between myocardial contraction patterns and the overall behavior at the scale of the whole organ. It is concluded that torsional rotation is sensitive to transmural gradients of contractility which is assumed linearly related to action potential duration (APD). Pressure-volume loops and other basic strain measures are not affected by these gradients. Therefore, realistic torsional behavior of human LV may indeed correspond to the electrophysiological and functional differences between endocardial and epicardial cells recently observed in non-failing hearts. Future investigations need now to integrate the mechanical model proposed here with minimal models of human ventricular APD to drive excitation-contraction coupling transmurally.