长爪沙鼠发情周期规律与判定方法

目的研究长爪沙鼠发情周期,揭示发情规律,优化判定方法。方法连续18 d采集50只长爪沙鼠阴道上皮脱落细胞涂片,采用角化细胞计数法研究长爪沙鼠发情周期规律。比较瑞氏染色、HE染色和直接镜检判定发情周期4个时相的优缺点。结果长爪沙鼠的发情周期有稳定型、不稳定型、假孕三种类型。其中稳定型占68.6%,发情周期为(106.3±35.0)h,可分为4个时相。4个时相角化细胞的比例分别为发情前期(13.5±7.8)%、发情期(86.7±9.9)%、发情后期(27.9±12.8)%和发情间期(3.3±2.8)%。结论角化细胞计数能准确地判定长爪沙鼠的发情周期及各个时相。直接镜检法能快速反映阴道脱落细胞的形态。     

Noninvasive markers of bone metabolism in the rhesus monkey: Normal effects of age and gender

Abstract: Measurement of bone turnover in conditions such as osteoporosis has been limited by the need for invasive iliac bone biopsy to reliably determine parameters of bone metabolism. Recent advances in the area of serum and urinary markers of bone metabolism have raised the possibility for noninvasive measurements; however, little nonhuman primate data exist for these parameters. The purpose of this experiment was to define the normal range and variability of several of the newer noninvasive bone markers which are currently under investigation in humans. The primary intent was to determine age and gender variability, as well as provide some normative data for future experiments in nonhuman primates. Twenty-four rhesus macaques were divided into equal groups of male and female according to the following age groupings: 3 years, 5–10 years, 15–20 years, and > 25 years. Urine was collected three times daily for a four-day period and measured for several markers of bone turnoverm including pyridinoline (PYD), deoxypyrodinoline (DPD), hydroxyproline, and creatinine. Bone mineral density measurements of the lumbar spine were performed at the beginning and end of the study period. Serum was also obtained at the time of bone densitometry for measurement of osteocalcin levels by radioimmunoassay. There were no significant differences in bone mineral density, urine PYD, or urine DPD based on gender. Bone density was lowest in the youngest animals, peaked in the 15–20-year group, but again decreased in the oldest animals. The osteocalcin, PYD, and DPD levels followed an inversely related pattern to bone density. The most important result was the relative age insensitivity of the ratio of PYD:DPD in monkeys up to age 20 years. Since bone density changes take months or years to become measurable and iliac biopsies are invasive, the PYD/DPD marker ratio may have important implications for rapid noninvasive measurement of the effects of potential treatments for osteoporosis in the non-human primate model.     

The plankton of the Prince Edward Islands

Summary The Prince Edward Islands (47°S, 38°E) are situated very close to the border between the antarctic and subantarctic zones. There is, indeed, some difference of opinion whether this border, the Antarctic covergence or Polar front, should be drawn at 46° or 50°S (see Discussion). Deacon (1983) claims that the complexity of the currents in this area leads to more interchange and less clear gradation between Antarctic and subantarctic waters than in most longitudes. This is a study of the species composition, and a very rough estimate of the standing stock, of the plankton fauna of the waters surrounding the Prince Edward Islands during two surveys conducted by us in 1982 and 1983. They are compared with each other and with a third survey by Grindley and Lane in 1979 and data presented by Miller (1985). The plankton is mainly antiboreal (Systematic Account and Table 1). However, entrants of tropical, sub-tropical and antarctic origin are noted. The means of advection of these aliens into the region are hypothesized and it is further speculated that they may be, at times, relics of decayed biocoenoses.     

The conformational behaviour of phosphatidylinositol in model membranes: 2H-NMR studies.

Dimyristoylphosphatidylinositol (DMPI) has been synthesized with the appropriate natural stereochemistry and labelled with deuterium at specific sites in the D-myo-inositol headgroup. 2H-NMR spectroscopy of DMPI in its lamellar phase at a molar ratio of water-to-lipid RW/L of 129 and at 70 degrees C reveals quadrupolar splittings delta v of 3.83 and 2.17 kHz, respectively, for the five axially oriented C-D bonds and the single equatorially oriented C-D bond of the D-myo-inositol headgroup. Between RW/L ratios of 129 and 210 and between 30 degrees C and 80 degrees C the value of the ratio of these splittings delta nu ax/delta nu eq varies significantly (between 1.17 and 4.38). If it is assumed that, at a particular temperature, there is a single preferred orientation of the inositol headgroup, and that motion of the DPMI molecule establishes axial symmetry with respect to the bilayer normal then the ratio of these quadrupolar splittings can be used to impose constraints on that orientation. For example, the data are inconsistent with a situation in which the inositol ring lies parallel to the membrane surface and are difficult to reconcile with an arrangement where the inositol ring lies perpendicular to the surface. Computational modelling identifies four possible 'tilted' orientations, all of which are consistent with the data, and two of these allow good intramolecular hydrogen bonds to be formed. In one there is hydrogen bonding between the inositol C2-OH and the phosphate pro-R oxygen. This is close to the conformation previously identified as being dominant in DMSO solution (Bushby, R.J., Byard, S.J., Hansbro, P.M. and Reid, D.G. (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1044, 231-236).     

A radioimmunoassay for human insulin receptor correlation between insulin binding and receptor mass.

We have developed a radioimmunoassay for human insulin receptor. Serum from a patient with Type B severe insulin resistance was used as anti-insulin receptor antiserum. Pure human placental insulin receptor was used as reference preparation and 125I labeled pure insulin receptor as trace. The radioimmunoassay was sensitive (limit of detection less than 17 fmol), reproducible (inter and intra-assay coefficients of variation 12.5% and 1.6% respectively) and specific (no crossreactivity with pure placental IGF-1 receptor, insulin and glucagon). The anti-insulin receptor antibody was, however, able to differentiate between insulin receptor from human placenta and from rat liver. To determine the number of insulin binding sites per receptor, we measured insulin binding (by insulin binding assay) and insulin receptor mass (by radioimmunoassay) in solubilized aliquots from 5 human placentas. The molar ratio of insulin binding to receptor mass was 0.86 +/- 0.12 when binding was determined with monoiodinated 125I-Tyr A 14-insulin. It was 1.94 +/- 0.27 when randomly iodinated 125I-insulin was used. In conclusion, using a sensitive, reproducible and specific radioimmunoassay, we have measured insulin receptor mass independent of insulin binding. Our data are most compatible with binding of one insulin molecule per human placental insulin receptor.     

Molecular evolution of cytochrome c oxidase: rate variation among subunit VIa isoforms

Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) consists of 13 subunits, 3 encoded in the mitochondrial genome and 10 in the nucleus. Little is known of the role of the nuclear-encoded subunits, some of which exhibit tissue-specific isoforms. Subunit VIa is unique in having tissue-specific isoforms in all mammalian species examined. We examined relative evolutionary rates for the COX6A heart (H) and liver (L) isoform genes along the length of the molecule, specifically in relation to the tissue-specific function(s) of the two isoforms. Nonsynonymous (amino acid replacement) substitutions in the COX6AH gene occurred more frequently than in the ubiquitously expressed COX6AL gene. Maximum-parsimony analysis and sequence divergences from reconstructed ancestral sequences revealed that after the ancestral COX6A gene duplicated to yield the genes for the H and L isoforms, the sequences encoding the mitochondrial matrix region of the COX VIa protein experienced an elevated rate of nonsynonymous substitutions relative to synonymous substitutions. This is expected for relaxed selective constraints after gene duplication followed by purifying selection to preserve the replacements with tissue-specific functions.      

荒漠草原人工柠条林对冠下草本植物群落的保育作用

以宁夏盐池县荒漠草原人工柠条（Caragana intermedia）林为研究对象,分别选取柠条林冠下东侧（SE）,冠下西侧（SW）及带间（Gap）为研究样地,从群落水平探讨柠条对冠下草本植物群落结构、物种多样性及功能群分布的影响。结果表明：（1）在3种微生境中均鉴定出12种植物,SW以蒙古冰草为优势种,SE以蒙古冰草和中亚白草为优势种,Gap则以蒙古冰草和牛枝子为优势种。（2）与Gap相比,SW和SE植物群落的平均高度分别增加了41.06%和81.75%,地上生物量分别增加了40.88%和38.73%。SW和SE中,禾本科植物地上生物量分别占地上总生物量的67.10%和58.40%,显著高于Gap （P<0.05）。（3）柠条冠层效应使得草本植物的物种丰富度指数增加,但Shannon-Winner指数、Simpson指数和Pielou指数显著差异（P>0.05）,变化范围分别为1.620-1.756、0.701-0.730和0.775-0.878。（4）冗余分析表明：土壤温度、空气相对湿度及土壤有机碳是影响草本植物物种多样性及生物量的主要因子,解释量分别为42.70%,11.70%和8.80%。研究表明,柠条对冠下草本植物群落尤其是禾本科植物具有一定的保育作用,该效应的产生主要是由于柠条冠下微气候及土壤环境因子的改善为草本植物的生长发育提供了有利条件。柠条对草本植物的保育作用对荒漠草原生态环境的保护与恢复具有重要意义。