生物遗传资源的元所有权、衍生所有权和修饰权

本文探讨了生物遗传资源的元所有权与衍生所有权、生物遗传资源的修饰权概念。所谓生物遗传资源的元所有权即对生物遗传资源的载体——生物体、生殖细胞以及生物的遗传信息都拥有的所有权。生物遗传资源的衍生所有权即在一种生物遗传资源被商业修饰后,那些对这种生物遗传资源拥有元所有权的国家仍拥有的部分所有权利。目前生物资源获取与惠益分享中的许多混乱是因为未能区分生物遗传资源的元所有权与衍生所有权。对任何生物遗传资源的修饰应本着“尊重生命”的原则,这个原则与《生物多样性公约》序言中强调的“意识到生物多样性的内在价值”的观点一致,生物多样性的内禀价值既包括物种的生存价值,也包括物种生存价值的外延,即物种个体的生存价值。行使生物遗传资源的修饰权还应本着“保存”、“善意修饰”、“预防恶意修饰”的掌握,以及促进人类福祉的原则,如增加农作物产量、降低有害物质含量、增加作物和家畜的抗病性、有益生态环境保护等等。人类自身的生物遗传资源的修饰权由人类的多数公意决定或国家行使。对任何生物遗传资源的修饰还应防止有意危害人类、野生生物的遗传结构稳定、甚至在实验室创造新的、自然界原本不存在的有害生物的恶意修饰。     

Left bundle,right diagnosis

Netherlands Heart Journal -     

Selective right, but not left, coronary endothelial dysfunction precedes development of pulmonary hypertension and right heart hypertrophy in rats

We investigated a causal role for coronary endothelial dysfunction in development of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension and right heart hypertrophy in rats. Significant increases in pulmonary pressure and right ventricular weight did not occur until 3 wk after 60 mg/kg MCT injection (34 +/- 4 vs. 19 +/- 2 mmHg and 37 +/- 2 vs. 25 +/- 1% septum + left ventricular weight in controls, respectively). Isolated right coronary arteries (RCA) showed significant decreases in acetylcholine-induced NO dilation in both 1-wk (33 +/- 3% with 0.3 microM; n = 5) and 3-wk (18 +/- 3%; n = 11) MCT rats compared with control rats (71 +/- 8%, n = 10). Septal coronary arteries (SCA) showed a smaller decrease in acetylcholine dilation (55 +/- 8% and 33 +/- 7%, respectively, vs. 73 +/- 8% in controls). No significant change was found in the left coronary arteries (LCA; 88 +/- 6% and 81 +/- 6%, respectively, vs. 87 +/- 3% in controls). Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester-induced vasoconstriction, an estimate of spontaneous endothelial NO-mediated dilation, was not significantly altered in MCT-treated SCA or LCA but was increased in RCA after 1 wk of MCT (-41 +/- 6%) and decreased after 3 wk (-18 +/- 3% vs. -27 +/- 3% in controls). A marked enhancement to 30 nM U-46619-induced constriction was also noted in RCA of 3-wk (-28 +/- 6% vs. -9 +/- 2% in controls) but not 1-wk (-12 +/- 7%) MCT rats. Sodium nitroprusside-induced vasodilation was not different between control and MCT rats. Together, our findings show that a selective impairment of right, but not left, coronary endothelial function is associated with and precedes development of MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension and right heart hypertrophy in rats.     

Aerial photogrammetry of southern right whales, Eubalaena australis

Between July or August and November 1988 and 1989, 72 cow-calf pairs of right whales ( Eubalaena australis ) were measured photogrammetrically from the air off De Hoop, South Africa. Median coefficients of variation ranged from 1.29 to 4.56%, being lowest in cows and calves for measurements of total length. Fifty-seven adult cows measured from 12.37 to 15.54 m in length, with females photographed for the first time with a calf (= primiparous) being smaller than females that had been seen for the first time with a calf at least five years previously. The lengths of 72 calves ranged from 4.53 to 9.24 m, with those from primiparous females being significantly smaller than calves of multiparous females in every month except July. For 37 calves photographed on more than one occasion the growth rate averaged 2.8±0.7 cm per day, with no significant difference between growth rates of calves from primiparous and from other females, and no significant decrease in growth rate between July/September and September/November. Calves grew from an average of 40% of their mother's length in late July to 51% by mid-October. The size distribution of the adult females was no different from that of 25 adult females landed at South African whaling stations between 1911 and 1963 (after adjustment for possible differences in measurement techniques). Five near-term foetuses recovered in June-August in the same whaling operations also agree closely with the size of calves predicted for 1 August. In a comparison with 17 calves stranded or dying accidentally on the South African coast, most of the accidentally caught animals agreed closely in size with the sample of photogrammetrically measured animals, while most of the stranded animals were equal to or smaller in size than the smallest length interval in the photogrammetrically measured animals. The calves of primiparous females may therefore suffer a higher natural mortality rate than those of multiparous females.