Some recent advances in basic neuroscience research in China

Neuroscience as a distinct discipline or research programme has been a rather recent event in most Chinese universities and in the Chinese Academy of Sciences. However, the last few years have witnessed increased funding and an improved research environment for neuroscience, both of which facilitated an influx of Chinese neuroscientists trained abroad. In this review, we have highlighted some recent research advances made by neuroscientists in China. Based on our own expertise, this review is focused mainly on findings that have contributed to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying brain development, neural plasticity and cognitive processes, and neural degeneration.     

Integrating ecosystem functions into restoration ecology—recent advances and future directions

Including ecosystem functions into restoration ecology has been repeatedly suggested, yet there is limited evidence that this is taking place without bias to certain habitats, species, or functions. We reviewed the inclusion of ecosystem functions in restoration and potential relations to habitats and species by extracting 224 publications from the literature (2004–2013). Most studies investigated forests, fewer grasslands or freshwaters, and fewest wetlands or marine habitats. Of all studies, 14% analyzed only ecosystem functions, 44% considered both biotic composition and functions, 42% exclusively studied the biotic component, mostly vascular plants, more rarely invertebrates or vertebrates, and least often microbes. Most studies investigating ecosystem functions focused on nutrient cycling (26%), whereas productivity (18%), water relations (16%), and geomorphological processes (14%) were less covered; carbon sequestration (10%), decomposition (6%), and trophic interactions (6%) were rarely studied. Monitoring of ecosystem functions was common in forests and grasslands, but the functions considered depended on the study organisms. These associations indicate research opportunities for certain habitats, species, and functions. Overall, the call to include ecosystem functions in restoration has been heard; however, a lack of clarity about the ecosystem functions to be included and deficits of feasible field methods are major obstacles for a functional approach. Restoration ecology should learn from recent advances in rapid assessment of ecosystem functions, and by a closer integration with biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research. Not all functions need to be measured in all ecosystems, but more functions than the few commonly addressed would improve the understanding of restored ecosystems.     

Integrating knowledge representation and quantitative modelling in physiology

A wealth of potentially shareable resources, such as data and models, is being generated through the study of physiology by computational means. Although in principle the resources generated are reusable, in practice, few can currently be shared. A key reason for this disparity stems from the lack of consistent cataloguing and annotation of these resources in a standardised manner. Here, we outline our vision for applying community-based modelling standards in support of an automated integration of models across physiological systems and scales. Two key initiatives, the Physiome Project and the European contribution - the Virtual Phsysiological Human Project, have emerged to support this multiscale model integration, and we focus on the role played by two key components of these frameworks, model encoding and semantic metadata annotation. We present examples of biomedical modelling scenarios (the endocrine effect of atrial natriuretic peptide, and the implications of alcohol and glucose toxicity) to illustrate the role that encoding standards and knowledge representation approaches, such as ontologies, could play in the management, searching and visualisation of physiology models, and thus in providing a rational basis for healthcare decisions and contributing towards realising the goal of of personalized medicine.     

Matricaria chamomilla: A valuable insight into recent advances in medicinal uses and pharmacological activities

Phytochemistry Reviews - Throughout history, Matricaria chamomilla L. (M. chamomilla) has had countless applications in traditional medicine. Its extracts, oils and teas have been used for treating...     

Decision-making in a social world: Integrating cognitive ecology and social neuroscience

Understanding animal decision-making involves simultaneously dissecting and reconstructing processes across levels of biological organization, such as behavior, physiology, and brain function, as well as considering the environment in which decisions are made. Over the past few decades, foundational breakthroughs originating from a variety of model systems and disciplines have painted an increasingly comprehensive picture of how individuals sense information, process it, and subsequently modify behavior or states. Still, our understanding of decision-making in social contexts is far from complete and requires integrating novel approaches and perspectives. The fields of social neuroscience and cognitive ecology have approached social decision-making from orthogonal perspectives. The integration of these perspectives (and fields) is critical in developing comprehensive and testable theories of the brain.     

Recent advances in quantitative colocalization analysis: Focus on neuroscience

Quantitative colocalization analysis is an advanced digital imaging tool to characterize the spatial expression of molecules of interest in immunofluorescence images obtained using confocal microscopes. It began from simple pixel counting and, with introduction of specialized algorithms, transformed into a powerful image analyzing technique capable of identifying the exact locations of various molecules in tissues and cells and describing their subtle changes in dynamics. Applications of quantitative colocalization in the field of neuroscience proved to be particularly informative by helping to obtain observations not otherwise achievable using other techniques. In this article, we review the background and applicability of quantitative colocalization with special focus on neuroscience research.     

Integrating developmental biology into the undergraduate curriculum at the University of Bath,United Kingdom

The undergraduate curriculum for bioscience degrees at the University of Bath is outlined, and the place is described of the developmental biology components within it. In the first year, all students receive four lectures on animal development and four on plant development. In the second year, many choose substantial lecture and practical courses on animal development, which outline the early development of Xenopus, mouse and Drosophila. The third year is usually spent on placement, with a company or research institute, a few of which are developmental biology-based, and may also involve some distance learning. The fourth year is spent back in Bath. Students interested in developmental biology can opt for advanced courses covering vertebrate organogenesis, developmental neurobiology and plant development. There are also one-semester, final-year projects spent in the labs of faculty members, several of whom specialise in developmental biology and offer projects accordingly.