Oxytocin Release by Infused Prostaglandin

Plasma oxytocin levels were measured serially in 22 women receiving prostaglandin E₂ or F_2α intravenously for the induction of labour. Oxytocin was detected in the plasma of 19 of the 22 women; positive levels were found in 60 (43%) of 139 plasma samples, an incidence similar to that in the late first stage of spontaneous labour. Oxytocin was found in the maternal plasma even when the fetus was dead, and in the plasma of two men receiving prostaglandin infusions. This indicates that prostaglandins stimulate the pituitary directly and suggests that this mechanism may play a part in the oxytocic action of infused prostaglandins.     

Interleukin-1-induced granulocytopenia and pulmonary leukostasis in rabbits

Pulmonary leukostasis is a postulated prerequisite lesion for acute lung injury. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) mediates components of the acute-phase response, stimulates granulocyte metabolism and secretion, and augments endothelial adhesiveness. We studied the effects of murine IL-1 infusion on circulating granulocytes, their sequestration within the pulmonary microvasculature, lung water, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) protein concentration in rabbits at 3 and 24 h after infusion. IL-1 administration induced significant (P less than 0.01) granulocytopenia compared with saline-injected controls and at 3 h induced significant increases in both mean alveolar septal wall granulocytes per high power field (HPF) (P less than 0.001) and mean myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity per gram lung tissue (P less than 0.001). At 24 h, IL-1 induced a marked granulocytosis and again significantly increased both mean alveolar septal wall granulocytes per HPF (P less than 0.001) and lung MPO (P less than 0.01). Increased lung water or BALF protein concentration could not be demonstrated in animals killed at either 3 or 24 h after IL-1 administration. Therefore, IL-1 can induce an early profound granulocytopenia followed by later granulocytosis, as well as sustained pulmonary leukostasis in the absence of detectable pulmonary edema formation or an alveolar-capillary leak.     

Lineage effects and the index of dispersion of molecular evolution

Recent efforts to estimate the index of dispersion [R(t)] of molecular evolution-i.e., the ratio of the variance in the number of substitutions on a lineage to the mean number-have suffered from an inability to adjust the data for lineage effects. These effects may include the generation-time dependency of the rate of evolution or improper assumptions about the branching pattern of a phylogenetic tree. In the present paper a method for correcting for lineage effects in the estimation of R(t) is presented for trees made up of three species. The recent data published by Li et al. for 20 loci in three orders of mammals is examined, and the average R(t), corrected for lineage effects, is shown to be 7.75 for replacement substitutions and 3.3 for silent substitutions. Thus the high values reported earlier may not be dismissed as due to generation-time effects or improper assumptions about phylogenies. Computer simulations are presented to give confidence in the estimate for replacement substitutions but also to demonstrate that the estimate for silent substitutions is sensitive to corrections for multiple substitutions and is not as reliable. This work's implications for our understanding of the mechanism of molecular evolution are discussed, and the arguments in favor of the hypothesis that replacement substitutions are mostly selected while silent substitutions are mostly neutral is presented.     

Prostaglandin-oxytocin Enhancement and Potentiation and their Clinical Applications

The pharmacological phenomena of enhancement and potentiation of uterine response occur respectively when combinations of some prostaglandins and oxytocin are given serially and simultaneously to a patient. Employing these phenomena allows small doses of the drugs to achieve the same effects as a large dose given alone. In a pilot study of the use of the combination of prostaglandin and oxytocin for the induction of mid-trimester abortion seven of nine women were aborted within 48 hours. Side effects attributable to prostaglandin were eliminated or reduced in severity.     

Phylogenetic placement of pelican spiders (Archaeidae,Araneae), with insight into evolution of the “neck” and predatory behaviours of the superfamily Palpimanoidea

Phylogenetic relationships among archaeid spider lineages, as well as the placement of archaeids within the Araneomorphae, present a problem in the systematics of spiders. We investigate these relationships by broadly sampling taxa from the Araneomorphae and superfamily Palpimanoidea, as well as from extant and fossil archaeid lineages. Using parsimony and Bayesian methods we perform a total‐evidence analysis that includes 126 morphological characters and over 4000 bases from one mitochondrial and three nuclear molecular markers. Phylogenetic analysis results in a delimitation of the superfamily Palpimanoidea to contain five families: Archaeidae, Mecysmaucheniidae, Stenochilidae, Palpimanidae and Huttoniidae. We also find the extant archaeids, which are restricted to the southern hemisphere, to be monophyletic, with the fossil archaeids paraphyletic. This phylogenetic framework is then used to interpret a novel morphological character, the highly modified and elevated cephalic area and elongated chelicerae (jaws), coupled with prey choice observations in the field and observations of chelicerae movements during predatory attacks. We conclude that the evolution of the elevated cephalic area, which reoriented the chelicerae muscles, led to highly manoeuvrable chelicerae and associated novel prey capture strategies. All members of Palpimanoidea appear to have modifications to the cephalic area, such as a diastema or sclerotization around the chelicerae bases, and furthermore, members appear to have evolved prey specialization.     

Antagonists of the human A2A receptor. Part 5: Highly bio-available pyrimidine-4-carboxamides

A novel series of antagonists of the human A_2A receptor have been identified and have been shown to display good potency and high degrees of selectivity over other receptor sub-types. Displaying in vivo potency in commonly used disease models and high oral bio-availability, this class of compounds may serve as clinically useful treatments for the relief of the symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease.     

基于享乐价格-结构方程双模型的西宁城市湿地生态系统服务价值及影响因素研究

湿地为城市发展提供巨大的生态系统服务，但其被市场“认可”的经济价值难以准确评估。以青海省西宁市城市湿地为例，筛选房屋结构、可达性、环境、湿地等10个因子，采用享乐价格模型对110个湿地周边社区样点的因子数据(2020年)进行分析，定量分析城市湿地被市场“认可”的价值量。采用断裂点理论和加权Voronoi图模型方法等，分析了湿地生态系统服务价值的空间影响范围；构建了湿地生态系统服务价值影响因素的结构方程模型，探究了影响湿地生态系统服务价值的主要因素。结果表明：(1)2020年湟水城市湿地的总价值达到3.367亿元，约有54.3%的生态系统服务通过房产被市场转化；(2)湟水湿地单位面积的生态系统服务价值为151.916元/m~2,生态系统服务价值由大到小排列：火烧沟(1.632亿元)>海湖湿地(0.710亿元)>宁海湿地(0.629亿元)>北川湿地(0.330亿元);(3)湿地生态系统服务价值占房产总价值的比例达到2.04%,位列10个因素中的第7位；线性函数模型结果显示，购买者对湿地的边际支付意愿是0.12元/m~2,即购买者愿意为房产与湿地之间的距离每缩小1m而多支付...     

基于野外观测检验动物廊道选址模型的准确性——以白头叶猴为例

廊道构建是减少栖息地破碎化负面影响的重要策略之一。目前，已经有许多模型用于动物廊道的选址，而"选址模型是否能准确预测动物迁移的实际发生位置"一直是保护生物学最为关注的问题。最小成本路径模型（LCP）和条件最小成本廊道模型（CMTC）是两种较为常用的廊道选址模型。以白头叶猴（Trachypithecus leucocephalus）为目标物种，分别运用LCP和CMTC模拟生成白头叶猴迁移廊道，将模拟结果与野外观测廊道进行对比，检验两种方法的准确性。结果表明：与野外观测实际廊道相比，LCP模型模拟结果的完全准确率为46.7%，部分准确率为20%，完全不准确率为33.3%；CMTC模型模拟结果的完全准确率为26.7%，其余73.3%为部分准确，无完全不准确的结果；总体上看，CMTC廊道的准确率较LCP高，因而CMTC模型模拟白头叶猴实际迁移廊道位置的准确性优于LCP模型。输入"源"要素类型、阻力面栅格尺度设定、栖息地土地利用类型变化以及动物迁移行为复杂性4个因素是影响该模拟结果准确性的主要原因。