Monkeys pass the mirror test after training

<正>There is no experiencing without an experiencer,the self.Whether the experiencer knows it is"the self"that is experiencing is a different and tricky philosophical issue.Dating back to Ivan Pavlov’s dogs,the"experience"of animals has     

Ethanol disrupts the formation of hypochord and dorsal aorta during the development of embryonic zebrafish

It has been demonstrated that maternal drinking during pregnancy had serious adverse effects on the health of the newborns. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the most important developmental abnormality caused by maternal alcohol abuse during pregnancy. Clinically, it is characterized by head and facial ab-normalities, cardiovascular malformation, and perma-nent nervous system damage[1,2]. A lot of experimental models have been developed to study the ethanol’s effects on embryonic development,…     

Effects of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids on levels of eNOS phosphorylation and relevant signaling transduction path-ways involved

Vascular endothelial cells play crucial roles in regulating cardiovascular function, maintaining car-diovascular homeostasis and preventing the occur-rence of cardiac and cerebral vascular diseases. All these protective effects are fulfilled through various vasoactive products secreted by endothelium including nitric oxide (NO), prostacyclin (PGI2) and endothe-lium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF). NO, pro-duced from L-arginine by endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS), is an impor…     

Proximity association in polygynous western black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor jingdongensis): network structure and seasonality

We investigated the structure and seasonality of the proximity network in a group of polygynous western black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) using social network analysis. The spatial proximity changed seasonally and was affected by temperature and rainfall. Preferred proximity association was not distributed randomly among individuals. Kinship was one explanation for the social structure, as offspring preferred to maintain close proximity with their mothers. The proximity of infants to mothers decreased with age, and independent offspring had lower proximity to mothers than dependent ones. We found that the adult male had different proximity relationships with two different adult females. The frequency of proximity between the male and the infant-carrying female was significantly higher than that between the male and the female who had immigrated carrying one offspring of uncertain paternity into the group. Infanticide avoidance and/or predation protection for dependent infants might explain the proximity relationship differences. Temperature influenced group proximity association, with individual proximity increasing in the cold months and decreasing in the hot months. Group proximity decreased in months with higher anthropogenic disturbance.     

Differentiation potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into retina in normal and laser-injured rat eye

Withinthebonemarrowstromathereexistsasubsetofnonhematopoieticcellsreferredtoasmes-enchymalstemormesenchymalprogenitorcells.Mesenchymalstemcells(MSCs)areapopulationofpluripotentcellswithinthehuman,birdorrodentbonemarrowmicroenvironmentdefinedbytheirability,eitherinvitroorinvivo,todifferentiateintocellsoftheosteogenic,chondrogenic,tendonogenic,adipo-genic,neuralcellsandmyogeniclineages[1].Themethodologiestoisolateandculture-expandMSCsfromhumanbonemarrowforestablishingthecellularortissuediffere…     

空间诱变水稻大粒型突变体的遗传育种研究

对粳稻农垦58经空间诱变产生的大粒型突变体进行大粒型性状的遗传分析和育种应用研究。结果表明,大粒型突变体的籽粒大小（以籽粒体积表示）表现为受多基因控制的数量性状。大粒型突变体谷粒细长,具馨香味,外观品质优,对粳稻的亲和性好,是一个罕见的优质米资源。以大粒型突变体为供体,高产、外观米质差的晚粳推广品种为受体,采用不饱和回交结合分离世代糙米外观品质鉴定的方法,将大粒型突变体的优质性状导入晚粳背景,选育出外观米质优的晚粳新品系。对采用不饱和回交方法改良数量性状进行了讨论。 Abstract:The inheritance and utilization of a stable large-grain mutant,selected from the induced generation derived from japonica Nongkeng 58 after space treatment carried by recoverable satellite,were analyzed.The results indicated that the grain volume of the large-grain mutant was quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes.The large-grain mutant had characteristics of slender grain,favorable scent,high apparent grain quality and good compatibility with japonica,and can be used as a valuable resource for improving grain quality.When high yield japonica variety with bad looking quality was used as a recurrent parent to cross with the mutant and a procedure of a limited backcross combined with identification of brown rice quality in segregation generations was applied,some japonica lines with good looking quality were developed.The utility of the limited backcross method for improvement of quantitative traits was discussed.     

Investigating design principles of micropatterned encapsulation systems containing high-density microtissue arrays

Immunoisolation is an important strategy to protect transplanted cells from rejection by the host immune system.Recently,microfabrication techniques have been used to create hydrogel membranes to encapsulate microtissue in an arrayed organization.The method illustrates a new macroencapsulation paradigm that may allow transplantation of a large number of cells with microscale spatial control,while maintaining an encapsulation device that is easily maneuverable and remaining integrated following transplantation.This study aims to investigate the design principles that relate to the translational application of micropatterned encapsulation membranes,namely,the control over the transplantation density/quantity of arrayed microtissues and the fidelity of pre-formed microtissues to micropatterns.Agarose hydrogel membranes with microwell patterns were used as a model encapsulation system to exemplify these principles.Our results show that high-density micropatterns can be generated in hydrogel membranes,which can potentially maximize the percentage volume of cellular content and thereby the transplantation efficiency of the encapsulation device.Direct seeding of microtissues demonstrates that microwell structures can efficiently position and organize pre-formed microtissues,suggesting the capability of micropatterned devices for manipulation of cellular transplants at multicellular or tissue levels.Detailed theoretical analysis was performed to provide insights into the relationship between micropatterns and the transplantation capacity of membrane-based encapsulation.Our study lays the ground for developing new macroencapsulation systems with microscale cellular/tissue patterns for regenerative transplantation.     

Increased leptin by hypoxic-preconditioning promotes autophagy of mesenchymal stem cells and protects them from apoptosis

Autophagy is the basic catabolic progress involved in cell degradation of unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components.It has been proven that autophagy could be utilized for cell survival under stresses.Hypoxic-preconditioning(HPC)could reduce apoptosis induced by ischemia and hypoxia/serum deprivation(H/SD)in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs).Previous studies have shown that both leptin signaling and autophagy activation were involved in the protection against apoptosis induced by various stress,including ischemia-reperfusion.However,it has never been fully understood how leptin was involved in the protective effects conferred by autophagy.In the present study,we demonstrated that HPC can induce autophagy in BMSCs by increased LC3-II/LC3-I ratio and autophagosome formation.Interestingly,similar effects were also observed when BMSCs were pretreated with rapamycin.The beneficial effects offered by HPC were absent when BMSCs were incubated with autophagy inhibitor,3-methyladenine(3-MA).In addition,down-regulated leptin expression by leptin-shRNA also attenuated HPC-induced autophagy in BMSCs,which in turn was associated with increased apoptosis after exposed to sustained H/SD.Furthermore,increased AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylation and decreased mammalian target of rapamycin phosphorylation that were observed in HPC-treated BMSCs can also be attenuated by down-regulation of leptin expression.Our data suggests that leptin has impact on HPC-induced autophagy in BMSCs which confers protection against apoptosis under H/SD,possibly through modulating both AMPK and mTOR pathway.     

An Integrative Taxonomy of Amphibians of Nepal: An Updated Status and Distribution

Amphibians are declining worldwide.At the same time,each year many species of amphibians are described,indicating that biological diversity on Earth remains poorly understood.This is especially true for mountainous regions,such as the Himalayas,which are also regarded as a biodiversity hotspot.However,it is most likely that the current diversity of amphibians in Nepal is highly underestimated.Amphibian inventories by the past researchers primarily used phenotypic characters as the basis for species identification.However,the application of molecular systematics methods to taxonomic studies has successfully uncovered the taxonomic status of several cryptic taxa.This study used both molecular(16 S rDNA sequences)and morphological comparisons and estimated the diversity of amphibians from Nepal.This study reports the occurrence of 38 species of amphibians based on both molecular and morphological comparisons.Among them,three species were recorded for the first time in Nepal.This study also invalids the taxonomic status of Sphaerotheca paschima.This study highlights the importa nce of integrative taxonomic approaches that help to resolve the current taxonomic ambiguities of Nepalese amphibians.     

DCCD对植物乳杆菌H~+-ATPase活性及基因表达水平的影响

研究添加外源抑制剂双环己基碳二亚胺(DCCD)对植物乳杆菌H~+-ATPase基因表达水平及酶活力的影响,探讨植物乳杆菌H~+-ATPase的调控机制。分别测定加入DCCD前后的亲本菌和低H~+-ATPase活力突变菌的生长能力、葡萄糖代谢速率、乳酸产量和H~+-ATPase活性,并通过荧光定量PCR对编码H~+-ATPase的相关基因进行相对定量分析。结果表明,亲本菌ZUST、突变菌ZUST-1和ZUST-2在添加DCCD后菌体生长能力均减弱,葡萄糖代谢速率减慢,乳酸产量降低,H~+-ATPase酶活性也降低。由于受到发酵液中酸性环境以及外源抑制剂DCCD的胁迫,亲本菌ZUST和突变菌ZUST-2编码H~+-ATPase的所有基因在稳定期表达水平都高于对数期。与未添加DCCD相比,添加DCCD的亲本菌和突变菌ZUST-2在对数期H~+-ATPase各基因的表达水平均下调或基本不变,抑制了H~+-ATPase活力从而导致菌株的生长代谢速率减弱。此研究结果为进一步揭示植物乳杆菌中H~+-ATPase在酸胁迫下的调控机制奠定了基础。