Chewing lice from high‐altitude and migrating birds in Yunnan,China, with descriptions of two new species of Guimaraesiella

In total, 366 birds representing 55 species in 24 families and eight orders, were examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) in two high‐altitude localities in Yunnan Province, China. In Ailaoshan, almost all of the birds examined were resident passeriforms, of which 36% were parasitized by chewing lice. In Jinshanyakou, most birds were on migration, and included both passerine and non‐passerine birds. Of the passerine birds caught in Jinshanyakou, only one bird (0.7%) was parasitized by chewing lice. The prevalence of Myrsidea and Brueelia‐complex lice on birds caught in Ailaoshan was higher than in previous reports. Of the chewing lice identifiable to species level, three represent new records for China: Actornithophilus hoplopteri (Mjöberg, 1910), Maculinirmus ljosalfar Gustafsson & Bush, 2017 and Quadraceps sinensis Timmermann, 1954. In total, 17 new host records are included, of which we describe two as new species in the Brueelia‐complex: Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) ailaoshanensis sp. nov. ex Schoeniparus dubius dubius (Hume, 1874) and G. (C.) montisodalis sp. nov. ex Fulvetta manipurensis tonkinensis Delacour & Jabouille, 1930. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9FC3D8EE‐2CED‐4DBE‐A1DB‐471B71260D27 .     

Cortical Plasticity Induced by Spike-Triggered Microstimulation in Primate Somatosensory Cortex

Electrical stimulation of the nervous system for therapeutic purposes, such as deep brain stimulation in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, has been used for decades. Recently, increased attention has focused on using microstimulation to restore functions as diverse as somatosensation and memory. However, how microstimulation changes the neural substrate is still not fully understood. Microstimulation may cause cortical changes that could either compete with or complement natural neural processes, and could result in neuroplastic changes rendering the region dysfunctional or even epileptic. As part of our efforts to produce neuroprosthetic devices and to further study the effects of microstimulation on the cortex, we stimulated and recorded from microelectrode arrays in the hand area of the primary somatosensory cortex (area 1) in two awake macaque monkeys. We applied a simple neuroprosthetic microstimulation protocol to a pair of electrodes in the area 1 array, using either random pulses or pulses time-locked to the recorded spiking activity of a reference neuron. This setup was replicated using a computer model of the thalamocortical system, which consisted of 1980 spiking neurons distributed among six cortical layers and two thalamic nuclei. Experimentally, we found that spike-triggered microstimulation induced cortical plasticity, as shown by increased unit-pair mutual information, while random microstimulation did not. In addition, there was an increased response to touch following spike-triggered microstimulation, along with decreased neural variability. The computer model successfully reproduced both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the experimental findings. The physiological findings of this study suggest that even simple microstimulation protocols can be used to increase somatosensory information flow.     

A Novel Peroxidase from Fresh Fruiting Bodies of the Mushroom Pleurotus pulmonarius

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - A novel peroxidase has been isolated from fresh fruiting bodies of the mushroom Pleurotus pulmonarius, with a purification protocol of...     

The 2',3'-dideoxyriboside of 2,6-diaminopurine selectively inhibits human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication in vitro

The 2',3'-dideoxyriboside of 2,6-diaminopurine(ddDAPR) is, like 2',3'-dideoxyadenosine (ddAdo), a potent and selective inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in vitro. The ddDAPR compound inhibits HIV antigen expression and HIV-induced cytopathogenicity in MT4 cells at a 50% effective dose (ED50) of 2.5-3.6 microM, as compared to 3.1-6.4 microM for ddAdo. Both compounds are endowed with a high selectivity index: 112 for ddDAPR and 139 for ddAdo. The 2',3'-unsaturated derivatives of ddDAPR and ddAdo, i.e. ddeDAPR and ddeAdo, are considerably more cytotoxic and less effective against HIV than the parental compounds. Like ddAdo, ddDAPR is only weakly inhibitory to the proliferation and DNA and RNA synthesis of a series of human B-lymphoblast, T-lymphoblast and T-lymphocyte cell lines. In contrast to ddAdo, which is rapidly deaminated by beef intestine adenosine deaminase at an initial velocity (Vi) of 145 mumol/mg protein/min, ddDAPR and ddeDAPR are poor substrates for the enzyme (Vi: 8 and 0.7 mumol/mg protein/min, respectively), which further contributes to the potential of ddDAPR as a chemotherapeutic agent against AIDS.     

传入C纤维的兴奋在中电针“足三里”激活中缝大核中的作用

The purpose of the present work is to study whether the analgesia of "Zusanli" EA was mainly produced by its noxious effect. The antidromic C waves on N. peroneus communis innervating the area of "Zusanli" point were recorded. When "Zusanli" point was stimulated by trains of stimuli, the amplitude of the antidromic C wave was obviously decreased due to collision with the orthodromic stimulation. It was suggested that EA of "Zusanli" could excite some C fibers. It was observed that when the stimulation intensity reached the threshold of C fiber, the NRM neurons were obviously activated, and when it reached or exceeded the intensity for producing the maximal C wave, the NRM neurons were highly activated. Therefore, EA analgesia is probably produced mainly by its noxious stimulus component, especially carried by C fibers, via a negative feedback mechanism in modulating pain.     

龟纹瓢虫成虫的食饵搜索行为——向地域集中型转换的激发和持续时间

为了研究在15—25lux和230—280lux两种光照条件下雌雄龟纹瓢虫成虫搜索行为转换的因子及作地域集中型搜索持续的时间(giving-up-time——简写为GUT)长短,按Nakamuta(1982)方法给予以下五种刺激:a.和棉蚜接触;b.捕获棉蚜或仅食去撕去量;c.完全吃下捕获的1头棉蚜;d.和琼脂块(2×2×2mm)接触;e.吃下沾有棉蚜体液的琼脂块(2×2×2mm)。以不给予刺激作对照,观察每种刺激对搜索行为转换的激发作用。结果表明五种刺激的任一种刺激都可激发搜索行为的转换。结果还表明GUT值随刺激程度大小而变化,其大小顺序为a=d相似文献