Africa Climate exchange

Golden Nightjar Caprimulgus eximius is an apparently sedentary sub-Saharan species with a breeding range extending from Senegal and Mauritania to Sudan. Although genetic studies of nightjars and related Caprimulgiformes have been published previously, none has included Golden Nightjar. In this study, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of a Golden Nightjar found dead in Western Sahara in April 2016 was sequenced and compared with other species in the genus Caprimulgus. It was concluded with strong support that Golden Nightjar is closely related to Egyptian Nightjar C. aegyptius. It is hypothesised that Golden and Egyptian Nightjars may have arisen by splitting of a single ancestral species into migratory and sedentary populations.     

金双歧辅助治疗小儿扁桃体炎的随访观察

目的探讨通过随访观察金双歧辅助治疗小儿扁桃体炎患儿的远期效果。方法选取2013年1月至2014年7月在本院儿科住院诊断为扁桃体炎患儿300例,采用随机数字表法,按入院先后顺序分为对照组和观察组,对照组常规给予抗生素(包括抗病毒药)和(或)对症治疗;观察组在对照组治疗的基础上,给予金双歧口服辅助治疗,出院后继续服用金双歧4周;两组患儿分别在出院后1个月、2个月、3个月均进行电话随访,3个月后均通过家庭访视进行观察,比较两组患儿出院后发生呼吸道感染和肠道感染的差异。结果观察组患儿在出院后3个月内呼吸道感染和肠道感染的发生率低于对照组,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论出院扁桃体炎患儿继续服用金双歧,可提高患儿机体免疫力,降低呼吸道和肠道感染的发生率;随访为观察患儿出院后健康状态,进行健康指导以及收集资料的重要手段。     

Effects of various enzymes on the ability of hamster egg plasma membranes to fuse with spermatozoa

To investigate which component of the plasma membrane of the hamster egg plays the central role in the sperm–egg fusion, the egg membrane was treated with a variety of proteolytic, carbohydrate-hydrolyzing, lipid-hydrolyzing, and other enzymes. The only enzyme that markedly effected the ability of the egg membrane to fuse with spermatozoa was phospholipase C. The lipid moieties of the egg plasma membrane (and possibly of the sperm membrane) must be of primary importance in sperm–egg fusion at fertilization.     

Linking behavioral states to landscape features for improved conservation management

1. A central theme for conservation is understanding how animals differentially use, and are affected by change in, the landscapes they inhabit. However, it has been challenging to develop conservation schemes for habitat‐specific behaviors.
2. Here we use behavioral change point analysis to identify behavioral states of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the southwestern United States, and we identify, for each behavioral state, conservation‐relevant habitat associations.
3. We modeled behavior using 186,859 GPS points from 48 eagles and identified 2,851 distinct segments comprising four behavioral states. Altitude above ground level (AGL) best differentiated behavioral states, with two clusters of short‐distance movement behaviors characterized by low AGL (state 1 AGL = 14 m (median); state 2 AGL = 11 m) and two associated with longer‐distance movement behaviors and characterized by higher AGL (state 3 AGL = 108 m; state 4 AGL = 450 m).
4. Behaviors such as perching and low‐altitude hunting were associated with short‐distance movements in updraft‐poor environments, at higher elevations, and over steeper and more north‐facing terrain. In contrast, medium‐distance movements such as hunting and transiting were over gentle and south‐facing slopes. Long‐distance transiting occurred over the desert habitats that generate the best updraft.
5. This information can guide management of this species, and our approach provides a template for behavior‐specific habitat associations for other species of management concern.

     

Isolation calls and retrieving behavior in laboratory and wild-derived golden hamsters—No sign for inbreeding depression

Isolated juvenile golden hamsters produce ultrasonic and audible vocalizations, so-called isolation calls, as a reaction to being separated from their mother and nest and their cooling down. Their aim is to stimulate mothers to search and retrieve the pups. In this work, the vocalization of juvenile laboratory (Zoh:GOHA; Institute of Zoology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg) and juvenile wild-derived golden hamsters (captured in northern Syria and southern Turkey) from birth up to the age of 18 days were digitally recorded, analyzed and compared using an ultrasonic microphone and the software Avisoft. Furthermore, the retrieving behavior of the mothers was observed and compared. The results showed that the number of isolation calls was age-specific and the structure of the calls was influenced by body temperature, body mass and sex of the pups. The age of the pups determined retrieval by the maternal golden hamsters; however these did not discriminate between their own pups or foreign pups. In spite of enormous genetic differences between wild-derived and laboratory golden hamsters, only minor differences between the strains were found.     

双歧杆菌三联活菌联合乳果糖对儿童功能性便秘的疗效

目的观察双歧杆菌三联活菌(金双歧)联合乳果糖口服液治疗儿童功能性便秘的临床疗效。探索临床治疗儿童功能性便秘的良好方法。方法选择我院2015年1月至2017年12月收治的110例功能性便秘患儿为研究对象,随机分为治疗组(58例)和对照组(52例)。两组患儿均予以基础治疗,对照组患儿给予乳果糖口服液治疗,治疗组患儿给予金双歧联合乳果糖口服液治疗,比较两组患儿疗效及不良反应。结果治疗组和对照组患儿治疗总有效率分别为91.4%和76.9%,差异有统计学意义(χ~2=4.385 0,P=0.036 2)。治疗组患儿不良反应发生率为3.4%,对照组为11.5%,差异无统计学意义(χ~2=5.153 0,P=0.272 0)。随访1年后,治疗组患儿远期复发率低于对照组。结论双歧杆菌三联活菌联合乳果糖口服液对儿童功能性便的疗效优于单用乳果糖口服液,患儿远期复发少,值得临床推广。     

Male golden hamsters (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mesocricetus auratus</Emphasis>) are more reactive than females to a visual predator cue

In most species of small mammals, males are exposed to higher levels of risk than females because they compete for mates, travel greater distances to find and procure mates, and/or defend a territory. This suggests that males and females might have different responses to risky situations, such as the presence of a predator. We tested responses to a visual predator cue (an owl silhouette) in male and female golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). In a laboratory arena, there was no significant sex difference in the latency to enter the burrow or time spent in the burrow immediately after exposure to the owl silhouette. Males, however, were less likely to be active during the 3-min period following the animal’s exposure to the silhouette, indicating that male golden hamsters are more wary after exposure to an aerial predator cue than females. Most studies of responses to predators or predator cues have not considered sex differences, but our results show that males and females may have quite different responses to predator cues. Further work should be done to characterize and quantify sex differences in response to predators or predator cues.     

Ossicular density in golden moles (Chrysochloridae)

The densities of middle ear ossicles of golden moles (family Chrysochloridae, order Afrosoricida) were measured using the buoyancy method. The internal structure of the malleus was examined by high-resolution computed tomography, and solid-state NMR was used to determine relative phosphorus content. The malleus density of the desert golden mole Eremitalpa granti (2.44 g/cm³) was found to be higher than that reported in the literature for any other terrestrial mammal, whereas the ossicles of other golden mole species are not unusually dense. The increased density in Eremitalpa mallei is apparently related both to a relative paucity of internal vascularization and to a high level of mineralization. This high density is expected to augment inertial bone conduction, used for the detection of seismic vibrations, while limiting the skull modifications needed to accommodate the disproportionately large malleus. The mallei of the two subspecies of E. granti, E. g. granti and E. g. namibensis, were found to differ considerably from one another in both size and shape.     

金双歧联合通腑合剂治疗急性胰腺炎的临床研究

【摘 要】 目的 观察金双歧联合通腑合剂治疗急性胰腺炎的临床效果。方法 120例胰腺炎患者,随机分为常规治疗组、通腑合剂组和联合治疗组,每组40例。采取不同治疗方法,分别观察3组患者的临床治疗效果、实验室指标改善情况以及住院时间等。结果 联合治疗组治疗效果明显优于常规治疗组及通腑合剂组（P<0.05）,未出现恶化病例,其腹痛、腹胀缓解时间及血淀粉酶（AMY）和C反应蛋白（CRP）恢复时间明显短于常规治疗组和通腑治疗组,差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。联合治疗组和通腑合剂组在血白细胞（WBC）和血脂肪酶（LPS）恢复上差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）,但均优于常规治疗组,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论 金双歧联合通腑合剂治疗急性胰腺炎有较好的临床效果,并能缩短住院时间。     

微生态制剂预防老年抗生素相关性腹泻的临床研究

目的 评价预防性应用微生态制剂(金双歧)在老年人抗生素相关性腹泻中的作用.方法 2010年5月至2013年2月应用抗生素的住院老年患者55例纳入观察对象,随机分为2组,预防组28例,给予微生态制剂双歧杆菌乳杆菌三联活菌片(金双歧)4片,3次/d,连续服用7～l0d;对照组27例,腹泻患者给予给予思密达3.76 g,3次/d.观察两组发生抗生素相关性腹泻情况,并进行肠道菌群分析.结果 预防组腹泻发生率、腹泻次数、腹泻持续时间与对照组比较,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).两组腹泻病例的大便培养及常规检查无异常,大便涂片检查出现细菌计数减少或大便杆球菌比失调;预防组粪检结果杆球比例倒置、细菌计数减少、真菌感染例数等与对照组比较差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).结论 双歧杆菌乳杆菌三联活菌片(金双歧)可预防和减少老年人抗生素相关性腹泻的发生,减轻腹泻症状.