Phylogeny of Stephanidae (Hymenoptera: Apocrita) with a new genus from Upper Cretaceous Myanmar amber

A new wasp species, Lagenostephanus lii Li, Rasnitsyn, Shih and Ren gen. et sp.n. , is assigned to Stephaninae (Hymenoptera: Stephanidae). The specimen is described from the lowermost Upper Cretaceous Myanmar (Burmese) amber. This is the second stephanid wasp described from Myanmar amber after Kronostephanus zigrasi Engel & Grimaldi, representing the earliest fossil occurrences of Stephanidae. Based on morphological characters of all extant and extinct genera, a phylogenetic analysis of Stephanidae was conducted. The results indicate that Schlettereriinae and Stephaninae are monophyletic, whereas Electrostephanus Brues, as the only genus within Electrostephaninae, belongs to Stephaninae. Therefore, we propose a synonymy of Electrostephaninae with Stephaninae. Based on the fossil evidence, we infer that the family of Stephanidae was significantly diverse in the Late Cretaceous and that they originated during the Early Cretaceous or late Jurassic. A key to genera of Stephanidae is provided. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C082C245-8FD3-42B0-880F-94333286500B .     

20世纪90年代以来中国生态空间演化的时空格局和梯度效应

改革开放以来中国经济和城市化的快速发展促使生产和生活空间挤占大量生态空间，系统认识和评估我国生态空间演化的宏观格局和过程对于生态文明建设具有重要的理论和现实意义。为揭示全国生态空间变化的时空过程，在对生态空间内涵进行界定的基础上，结合全国尺度时序土地利用数据构建生态空间分类体系，并评估1990-2015年中国生态空间演化特征。结果表明：1990-2015年中国生态用地面积持续减少，主要向半生态用地转变，发生在重要的粮食生产区域及周边；半生态用地面积波动明显，前期主要表现为不断扩张，后期大量转换为弱生态用地，发生在主要城市群地区；弱生态用地持续扩张，与城镇化进程不断加速相关。中国生态空间演变过程表现出一定的区域差异和梯度效应，不同区域生态空间变化发生的拐点时间有所不同，呈现"自东向西、由南到北"的3级梯度特征，区域生态空间状况与经济发展战略及生态空间管控具有较强的相关性。本研究对于国家生态空间管控近远期战略方案制订具有一定启示，建议处于不同梯度的各地区应基于区域生态空间演化所处阶段和不同驱动机制，确定分区域生态空间安全红线目标和生态空间管控方案。     

Roles of Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein in Dopaminergic Stimulation-induced Synapse-associated Protein Synthesis and Subsequent α-Amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) Receptor Internalization

Fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited mental retardation, is caused by the absence of the RNA-binding protein fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). FMRP regulates local protein synthesis in dendritic spines. Dopamine (DA) is involved in the modulation of synaptic plasticity. Activation of DA receptors can regulate higher brain functions in a protein synthesis-dependent manner. Our recent study has shown that FMRP acts as a key messenger for DA modulation in forebrain neurons. Here, we demonstrate that FMRP is critical for DA D1 receptor-mediated synthesis of synapse-associated protein 90/PSD-95-associated protein 3 (SAPAP3) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). DA D1 receptor stimulation induced dynamic changes of FMRP phosphorylation. The changes in FMRP phosphorylation temporally correspond with the expression of SAPAP3 after D1 receptor stimulation. Protein phosphatase 2A, ribosomal protein S6 kinase, and mammalian target of rapamycin are the key signaling molecules for FMRP linking DA D1 receptors to SAPAP3. Knockdown of SAPAP3 did not affect surface expression of α-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) GluR1 receptors induced by D1 receptor activation but impaired their subsequent internalization in cultured PFC neurons; the subsequent internalization of GluR1 was also impaired in Fmr1 knock-out PFC neurons, suggesting that FMRP may be involved in subsequent internalization of GluR1 through regulating the abundance of SAPAP3 after DA D1 receptor stimulation. Our study thus provides further insights into FMRP involvement in DA modulation and may help to reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying impaired learning and memory in fragile X syndrome.     

Compatible Models of Carbon Content of Individual Trees on a Cunninghamia lanceolata Plantation in Fujian Province,China

We tried to establish compatible carbon content models of individual trees for a Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) plantation from Fujian province in southeast China. In general, compatibility requires that the sum of components equal the whole tree, meaning that the sum of percentages calculated from component equations should equal 100%. Thus, we used multiple approaches to simulate carbon content in boles, branches, foliage leaves, roots and the whole individual trees. The approaches included (i) single optimal fitting (SOF), (ii) nonlinear adjustment in proportion (NAP) and (iii) nonlinear seemingly unrelated regression (NSUR). These approaches were used in combination with variables relating diameter at breast height (D) and tree height (H), such as D, D²H, DH and D&H (where D&H means two separate variables in bivariate model). Power, exponential and polynomial functions were tested as well as a new general function model was proposed by this study. Weighted least squares regression models were employed to eliminate heteroscedasticity. Model performances were evaluated by using mean residuals, residual variance, mean square error and the determination coefficient. The results indicated that models with two dimensional variables (DH, D²H and D&H) were always superior to those with a single variable (D). The D&H variable combination was found to be the most useful predictor. Of all the approaches, SOF could establish a single optimal model separately, but there were deviations in estimating results due to existing incompatibilities, while NAP and NSUR could ensure predictions compatibility. Simultaneously, we found that the new general model had better accuracy than others. In conclusion, we recommend that the new general model be used to estimate carbon content for Chinese fir and considered for other vegetation types as well.     

Triptolide Inhibited Cytotoxicity of Differentiated PC12 Cells Induced by Amyloid-Beta25–35 via the Autophagy Pathway

Evidence shows that an abnormal deposition of amyloid beta-peptide_25–35 (Aβ_25–35) was the primary cause of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). And the elimination of Aβ_25–35 is considered an important target for the treatment of AD. Triptolide (TP), isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f. (TWHF), has been shown to possess a broad spectrum of biological profiles, including neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects. In our study investigating the effect and potential mechanism of triptolide on cytotoxicity of differentiated rat pheochromocytoma cell line (the PC12 cell line is often used as a neuronal developmental model) induced by Amyloid-Beta_25–35 (Aβ_25–35), we used 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, flow cytometry, Western blot, and acridine orange staining to detect whether triptolide could inhibit Aβ_25–35–induced cell apoptosis. We focused on the potential role of the autophagy pathway in Aβ_25–35-treated differentiated PC12 cells. Our experiments show that cell viability is significantly decreased, and the apoptosis increased in Aβ_25–35-treated differentiated PC12 cells. Meanwhile, Aβ_25–35 treatment increased the expression of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 II (LC3 II), which indicates an activation of autophagy. However, triptolide could protect differentiated PC12 cells against Aβ_25–35-induced cytotoxicity and attenuate Aβ_25–35-induced differentiated PC12 cell apoptosis. Triptolide could also suppress the level of autophagy. In order to assess the effect of autophagy on the protective effects of triptolide in differentiated PC12 cells treated with Aβ_25–35, we used 3-Methyladenine (3-MA, an autophagy inhibitor) and rapamycin (an autophagy activator). MTT assay showed that 3-MA elevated cell viability compared with the Aβ_25–35-treated group and rapamycin inhibits the protection of triptolide. These results suggest that triptolide will repair the neurological damage in AD caused by deposition of Aβ_25–35 via the autophagy pathway, all of which may provide an exciting view of the potential application of triptolide or TWHF as a future research for AD.     

Prevalence of Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment in China: A Community-Based,Cross-Sectional Study

International hospital-based studies have indicated a high risk of cognitive impairment after stroke, evidence from community-based studies in China is scarce. To determine the prevalence of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) and its subtypes in stroke survivors residing in selected rural and urban Chinese communities, we conducted a community-based, cross-sectional study in 599 patients accounting for 48% of all stroke survivors registered in the 4 communities, who had suffered confirmed strokes and had undergone cognitive assessments via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Hachinski Ischemia Scale (HIS). Detection of PSCI was based on scores in these neuropsychological scales. Factors potentially impacting on occurrence of PSCI were explored by comparing demographic characteristics, stroke features, and cardiovascular risk factors between patients with and without PSCI. The overall prevalence of PSCI was 80.97% (95%CI: 77.82%-84.11%), while that of non-dementia PSCI (PSCI-ND) and post-stroke vascular dementia (PSD) was 48.91% (95%CI: 44.91%-52.92%) and 32.05% (95%CI: 28.32%-35.79%), respectively. Prior stroke and complications during the acute phase were independent risk factors for PSCI. The risk of recurrent stroke survivors having PSCI was 2.7 times higher than for first-episode survivors, and it was 3 times higher for those with complications during the acute phase than for those without. The higher prevalence of PSCI in this study compared with previous Chinese studies was possibly due to the combined effects of including rural stroke survivors, a longer period from stroke onset, and different assessment methods. There is an urgent need to recognize and prevent PSCI in stroke patients, especially those with recurrent stroke and complications during the acute phase.     

Analysis of conformational motions and related key residue interactions responsible for a specific function of proteins with elastic network model

Protein collective motions play a critical role in many biochemical processes. How to predict the functional motions and the related key residue interactions in proteins is important for our understanding in the mechanism of the biochemical processes. Normal mode analysis (NMA) of the elastic network model (ENM) is one of the effective approaches to investigate the structure-encoded motions in proteins. However, the motion modes revealed by the conventional NMA approach do not necessarily correspond to a specific function of protein. In the present work, a new analysis method was proposed to identify the motion modes responsible for a specific function of proteins and then predict the key residue interactions involved in the functional motions by using a perturbation approach. In our method, an internal coordinate that accounts for the specific function was introduced, and the Cartesian coordinate space was transformed into the internal/Cartesian space by using linear approximation, where the introduced internal coordinate serves as one of the axes of the coordinate space. NMA of ENM in this internal/Cartesian space was performed and the function-relevant motion modes were identified according to their contributions to the specific function of proteins. Then the key residue interactions important for the functional motions of the protein were predicted as the interactions whose perturbation largely influences the fluctuation along the internal coordinate. Using our proposed methods, the maltose transporter (MalFGK₂) from E. Coli was studied. The functional motions and the key residue interactions that are related to the channel-gating function of this protein were successfully identified.