Complementary Roles of the Hippocampus and the Dorsomedial Striatum during Spatial and Sequence-Based Navigation Behavior

We investigated the neural bases of navigation based on spatial or sequential egocentric representation during the completion of the starmaze, a complex goal-directed navigation task. In this maze, mice had to swim along a path composed of three choice points to find a hidden platform. As reported previously, this task can be solved by using two hippocampal-dependent strategies encoded in parallel i) the allocentric strategy requiring encoding of the contextual information, and ii) the sequential egocentric strategy requiring temporal encoding of a sequence of successive body movements associated to specific choice points. Mice were trained during one day and tested the following day in a single probe trial to reveal which of the two strategies was spontaneously preferred by each animal. Imaging of the activity-dependent gene c-fos revealed that both strategies are supported by an overlapping network involving the dorsal hippocampus, the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and the medial prefrontal cortex. A significant higher activation of the ventral CA1 subregion was observed when mice used the sequential egocentric strategy. To investigate the potential different roles of the dorsal hippocampus and the DMS in both types of navigation, we performed region-specific excitotoxic lesions of each of these two structures. Dorsal hippocampus lesioned mice were unable to optimally learn the sequence but improved their performances by developing a serial strategy instead. DMS lesioned mice were severely impaired, failing to learn the task. Our data support the view that the hippocampus organizes information into a spatio-temporal representation, which can then be used by the DMS to perform goal-directed navigation.     

人子宫内膜纤蛋白溶酶元激活因子及其抑制因子的分布与调控

人子宫内膜中存在组织型(tPA)及尿激酶型(uPA)两类纤蛋白溶酶元激活因子,其含量在增殖期高于分泌期。本文应用免疫组织化学定位证实uPA及tPA两类抗原存在于子宫内膜的腺体细胞和间质细胞中。应用SDS-PAGE分高蛋白质,继而应用纤蛋白-琼脂糖铺盖技术测得离体培养下间质细胞仅释放tPA,腺体细胞仅释放uPA,但两种细胞均分泌PA的抑制因子(PAI)。培液中加入孕酮,明显抑制PA和刺激PAI生成。雌二醇作用与孕酮相反。某些肽类激素hCG、PRL、GnRH及cAMP作用基本与雌二醇相同。但福司克林(FK)则刺激间质、腺体两种细胞产生tPA及少量uPA,抑制PAI生成。本工作表明人子宫内膜中存在PA及PAI作用相反的酶,受激素调控,其生理意义尚待进一步探讨。     

应用酶联免疫吸附试验检测不同类型乙型肝炎中激活补体类HBsAg循环免疫复合物

本文以抗人C_(?)的羊IgG为包被抗体,以HRP-HBs抗体为指示抗体,建立了可检测激活补体类HBsAg循环免疫复合物(HBsAg/C3-CIC)的C_3捕捉法酶联免疫吸附试验。检测了236例六种类型临床诊断为乙型肝炎的病人血清标本,其阳性率分别为:无症状携带者(ASC)12.9％(4/31),急性肝炎(AH)36.7％(22/60),慢性迁延性肝炎(CPH)33.3％(7/21),慢性活动性肝炎(CAH)59.6％(34/57),重型肝炎(SH)77.8％(14/18),肝炎后肝硬化(PLC)67.3％(33/49),阳性率与肝损严重程度明显相关(P<0.01)。认为HBs-Ag/C3-CIC可能在乙型肝炎病毒引起的慢性活动性肝炎、重型肝炎和肝炎后肝硬化的发病过程中起重要作用,并可作为乙型肝炎的诊断、临床分型和预后判断的指标之一。     

不同放牧强度下高寒灌丛植物的生长特点

 不同放牧强度下高寒灌丛植物在生长发育、生理生态,物质生产和群落结构等方面主要有以下变化：1．在高寒灌丛草场,禾草类、莎草类和灌丛类植物的叶面积指数和平均生长速率随着放牧强度的减轻而增大;随着放牧强度的增加而减小。植株平均高度,植被盖度水平也与放牧强度呈负相关(p<0.01)。2．各项生长分析参数中：叶面积比率(LAR)、叶面积干重比(SLA)和叶干重比(LWR)与放牧强度之间存在负相关。叶面积指数(LAI)与地上生物量呈正相关(p<0.5),地上部现存在量与放牧强度呈负相关(p<0.01)。3．不同放牧强度条件下,高寒灌丛中的禾草类、莎草类、灌丛类和杂类草植物的种类组成和数量变化明显。其中禾草类和莎草类、灌丛类植物的生物量和种类组成比例在重度放牧下减少,在轻度放牧下增大。反之,重度放牧下杂类草的组成和数量明显增加,而轻度放牧下其比例降低。     

Cyclitol metabolism is a central feature of Burkholderia leaf symbionts

The symbioses between plants of the Rubiaceae and Primulaceae families with Burkholderia bacteria represent unique and intimate plant–bacterial relationships. Many of these interactions have been identified through PCR-dependent typing methods, but there is little information available about their functional and ecological roles. We assembled 17 new endophyte genomes representing endophytes from 13 plant species, including those of two previously unknown associations. Genomes of leaf endophytes belonging to Burkholderia s.l. show extensive signs of genome reduction, albeit to varying degrees. Except for one endophyte, none of the bacterial symbionts could be isolated on standard microbiological media. Despite their taxonomic diversity, all endophyte genomes contained gene clusters linked to the production of specialized metabolites, including genes linked to cyclitol sugar analog metabolism and in one instance non-ribosomal peptide synthesis. These genes and gene clusters are unique within Burkholderia s.l. and are likely horizontally acquired. We propose that the acquisition of secondary metabolite gene clusters through horizontal gene transfer is a prerequisite for the evolution of a stable association between these endophytes and their hosts.     

Circadian rhythms and glial cells of the central nervous system

Glial cells are the most abundant cells in the central nervous system and play crucial roles in neural development, homeostasis, immunity, and conductivity. Over the past few decades, glial cell activity in mammals has been linked to circadian rhythms, the 24-h chronobiological clocks that regulate many physiological processes. Indeed, glial cells rhythmically express clock genes that cell-autonomously regulate glial function. In addition, recent findings in rodents have revealed that disruption of the glial molecular clock could impact the entire organism. In this review, we discuss the impact of circadian rhythms on the function of the three major glial cell types – astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes – across different locations within the central nervous system. We also review recent evidence uncovering the impact of glial cells on the body's circadian rhythm. Together, this sheds new light on the involvement of glial clock machinery in various diseases.     

依赖叶黄素循环的非辐射能量耗散在防御珊瑚树叶片光抑制破坏中的作用

使用脉冲调制荧光仪观测了珊瑚树叶片光合作用的光抑制发生与恢复过程中几个主要荧光参数(初始荧光F_0,可变荧光与最大荧光之比F_v/F_M和非光化学荧光猝灭q_E及其快组分 q_(E—fast)、慢组分 q(E—slow))的变化,以探讨非光化学荧光猝灭不同组分的作用。 强光(约 1500μmol photons m~(-2) s~(-1))照射叶片使F_0、F_V/F_M和q_(E—fast)降低.q_(E—slow)和q_E增高。NH_4Cl处理使 F_V/F_M降低的幅度和q_E提高的幅度都增加。DTT处理使q_E水平和q_(E—slow)增加的幅度降低,而F_0和稳态荧光水平增加,强光下降低了的F_V/F_M在弱光下不易恢复。NaF处理对这些荧光参数都没有明显的影响。