Some prerequisites for a study of the evolution of cognition in the animal kingdom

A distinction is made between two definitions of animal cognition: the one most frequently employed in cognitive sciences considers cognition as extracting and processing information; a more phenomenologically inspired model considers it as attributing to a form of the outside world a significance, linked to the state of the animal. The respective fields of validity of these two models are discussed along with the limitations they entail, and the questions they pose to evolutionary biologists are emphasized. This is followed by a presentation of a general overview of what might be the study of the evolution of knowledge in animals.     

Modulation of types I and III procollagen synthesis at various stages of arterial smooth muscle cell growth in vitro

Collagen synthesis was monitored in cultures of rabbit arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC). Both the rate of collagen synthesis per cell and collagen synthesis as a percent of total protein synthesis were measured at specific intervals from 1 to 14 days after inoculation of smooth muscle cells. The proportions of types I and III collagen present in the conditioned incubation medium and in the cell layer were also examined. After inoculation the cells displayed population expansion typical of SMC in which growth slowed but did not cease after the cells attained confluence. Collagen synthesis rates, expressed as [14C]hydroxyproline per cell, were eight-fold higher in preconfluent cells. In these cultures collagen accounted for more than 20% of the newly synthesized, 14C-labeled protein present as trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-insoluble material in 24 h culture media. In post-confluent cultures, this percentage was reduced to about 7% of the total protein synthesized. Synthesis rates of both collagen and non-collagen protein decreased with increasing time after inoculation. However, the rate of decline of collagen synthesis was three times greater than that seen for non-collagen protein. Early cultures synthesized relatively more type I than type III procollagen. The type I to type III ratio was highest at day 3 and declined after that time to day 14. While the synthesis of both types decreased with increasing age, type I declined at a greater rate resulting in a predominance of type III procollagen secretion by older cultures. We conclude that protein synthesis in general and collagen synthesis in particular are quantitatively and qualitatively dependent upon the growth stage of SMC in vitro.     

On “intercolonial” cannibalism in Japanese paper wasps,Polistes chinensis antennalis Pérez andP. Jadwigae dalla torre (hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Summary Foundresses of two species of Japanese paper wasps,Polistes chinensis antennalis andP. jadwigae, attacked other colonies of the same species. A foundress ofP. chinensis antennalis visited two nests of the same species, and ate larvae from them, while two foundresses ofP. jadwigae each visited a nest of the same species, eating larvae and pupae even when the foundress of the attacked nest was on her nest. In addition, a foundress ofP. jadwigae distributed flesh balls thus obtained among their larvae. Discussion was made on the adaptive significance of the inter-colonial cannibalism. It was considered that, at first, it increases the foraging efficiency and secondly it plays a role in regulating population density.     

Biosynthesis of chondroitin sulfate: Microsomal proteoglycans

A microsomal preparation from chick embryo epiphyseal cartilage was incubated with UDP-[¹⁴C]glucuronic acid and UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine to form [¹⁴C] chondroitin-labeled proteoglycan. Two [¹⁴C]proteoglycan populations were obtained which differed in size, [¹⁴C]glycosaminoglycan content, and susceptibility to alkali. One population of [¹⁴C]proteoglycan appeared near the void volume on Sepharose 2B, while the other population was smaller, similar in size to monomer proteoglycan. The larger [¹⁴C]proteoglycan contained long [¹⁴C]chondroitin chains added to short primers; these chains were in part resistant to alkali cleavage from protein. The smaller [¹⁴C]proteoglycan contained mainly [¹⁴C]chondroitin chains of intermediate length added to endogenous chondroitin sulfate; these chains were all susceptible to alkali cleavage from protein. The larger [¹⁴C]proteoglycan may represent a precursor proteoglycan present at the site of glycosaminoglycan chain synthesis.     

采用数据挖掘技术对湖北省人类狂犬病开展生物信息学研究

狂犬病作为一种急性人畜共患疾病,其致死率接近100%。而湖北省作为我国中部狂犬病高发地之一,开展该省狂犬病的流行病学调查不仅有助于了解我国当前面临的狂犬病疫情风险,还能为当地及全国狂犬病防控工作提供有效的参考意见。首先运用描述性分析发现湖北省狂犬病发病人数随时间呈下降趋势,而狂犬病暴露人数则呈上升趋势,且近年来中西部地区狂犬病发病人数较东部地区略为突出,而男性狂犬病发病人数明显多于女性,且中老年群体感染人数多。同时,利用时间序列方法对狂犬病发病与暴露人数的时间序列数据予以分析,证实二者存在季节周期性且具有一定互相关性。研究所构建的风险模型预测未来三年狂犬病发病人数呈稳定趋势,但狂犬病暴露人数却会增加。然后,通过面板回归与差异显著性分析,发现湖北省的狂犬病年发病人数受到人口、GDP、气温和降水的综合影响,且不同海拔和坡度地区的狂犬病发病人数具有显著性差异。最后,讨论了研究存在的局限性以及未来的研究方向。     

中国大鲵繁殖前期的冲凉行为及其意义

为揭示和探讨中国大鲵(Andrias davidianus)繁殖前期的冲凉行为及其意义,在仿生态养殖环境条件下,采用定时定点观察法和全事件记录法,对中国大鲵冲凉行为的过程及姿势进行了观察记录,进而研究了冲凉行为与年龄、求偶行为之间的关系。结果表明,雄性成鲵表现出冲凉行为,冲凉过程包括冲凉试探、姿势调整、冲凉和离开等4个阶段;冲凉姿势可分为头部冲凉、躯干冲凉、尾部冲凉、移动冲凉、环抱冲凉、贴壁冲凉和抬头冲凉等7种;雄性成鲵的冲凉行为与求偶行为之间存在极显著的正相关。本文认为,雄性成鲵可能通过冲凉行为来促进精巢的发育,进而通过求偶行为达到自然配对并成功繁殖、最终实现种族延续的目的。     

MT1F mRNA在结肠癌组织中的表达及其临床病理意义

目的:探讨MT1F mRNA在结肠癌组织中的表达及其临床病理意义。方法:采用Taq Man探针实时荧光定量Real-time PCR检测40例结肠癌及对应正常粘膜组织中MT1F mRNA的表达,并通过免疫组化检测Metallothionein(MT)的蛋白表达。结果:82.5%(33/40例)的结肠癌组织MT1F mRNA表达较对应正常组织明显下调,降低2.4倍至113倍不等。MT1F mRNA水平与结肠癌患者的年龄、性别、肿瘤部位、肉眼形态、直径、分化及Dukes分期无关。在MT1F mRNA低表达的病例中,癌组织MT蛋白表达低于对应正常组织(P0.05)。结论:结肠癌组织MT1F mRNA水平显著下调,但与结肠癌的临床病理特征无关。     

Paced QRS morphology predicts incident left ventricular systolic dysfunction and atrial fibrillation

Background

The prognostic significance of paced QRS complex morphology on surface ECG remains unclear. This study aimed to assess long-term outcomes associated with variations in the paced QRS complex.

Bayesian Methods for Examining Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium

Summary .  Testing for Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium is ubiquitous and has traditionally been carried out via frequentist approaches. However, the discreteness of the sample space means that uniformity of  p -values under the null cannot be assumed, with enumeration of all possible counts, conditional on the minor allele count, offering a computationally expensive way of  p -value calibration. In addition, the interpretation of the subsequent  p -values, and choice of significance threshold depends critically on sample size, because equilibrium will always be rejected at conventional levels with large sample sizes. We argue for a Bayesian approach using both Bayes factors, and the examination of posterior distributions. We describe simple conjugate approaches, and methods based on importance sampling Monte Carlo. The former are convenient because they yield closed-form expressions for Bayes factors, which allow their application to a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in particular in genome-wide contexts. We also describe straightforward direct sampling methods for examining posterior distributions of parameters of interest. For large numbers of alleles at a locus we resort to Markov chain Monte Carlo. We discuss a number of possibilities for prior specification, and apply the suggested methods to a number of real datasets.     

306株鲍曼不动杆菌的临床分布及耐药性监测

目的调查杭州市某医院鲍曼不动杆菌感染的临床分布及其耐药性现状。方法监测该院2004年1月至2006年12月临床分离的306株鲍曼不动杆菌的临床感染分布及耐药性,药物敏感试验采用琼脂纸片扩散法,耐药性数据分析采用WHONET 5软件。结果2004年至2006年3年间,鲍曼不动杆菌的检出率呈逐年增加趋势(从1.60%增至2.40%);临床分布以重症监护室(ICU)最高(84/306),老年患者多见(131/306);有184株(60.13%)来源于痰液标本。药敏试验结果显示鲍曼不动杆菌对美罗培南最敏感,耐药率为4.6%;其次是亚胺培南/西司他丁和头孢哌酮/舒巴坦,耐药率分别为7.2%及8.5%;对3代头孢菌素及环丙沙星的耐药率均>50.0%;同时发现185株(60.5%)为多重耐药菌株。结论鲍曼不动杆菌对碳青霉烯类抗生素及头孢哌酮/舒巴坦较敏感,临床医师应注意合理使用抗菌药物,以减少多重耐药菌株的产生。