Evolution and ecology of feeding in elasmobranchs

Paleozoic chondrichthyans had a large gape, numerous spike-liketeeth, limited cranial kinesis, and a non-suspensory hyoid,suggesting a feeding mechanism dominated by bite and ram. Modernsharks are characterized by a mobile upper jaw braced by a suspensoryhyoid arch that is highly kinetic. In batoids, the upper jawis dissociated from the cranium permitting extensive protrusionof the jaws. Similar to actinopterygians, the evolution of highlymobile mandibular and hyoid elements has been correlated withextensive radiation of feeding modes in elasmobranchs, particularlythat of suction. Modern elasmobranchs possess a remarkable varietyof feeding modes for a group containing so few species. Biting,suction or filter-feeding may be used in conjunction with ramto capture prey, with most species able to use a combinationof behaviors during a strike. Suction-feeding has repeatedlyarisen within all recent major elasmobranch clades and is associatedwith a suite of morphological and behavioral specializations.Prey capture in a diverse assemblage of purported suction-feedingelasmobranchs is investigated in this study. Drop in water pressuremeasured in the mouth and at the location of the prey showsthat suction inflow drops off rapidly with distance from thepredator's mouth. Elasmobranchs specializing in suction-feedingmay be limited to bottom associated prey and because of theirsmall gape may have a diet restricted to relatively small prey.Behavior can affect performance and overcome constraints imposedby the fluid medium. Suction performance can be enhanced byproximity to a substrate or by decreasing distance from predatorto prey using various morphological and/or behavioral characteristics.Benthic suction-feeders benefit by the increased strike radiusdue to deflection of water flow when feeding close to a substrate,and perhaps require less accuracy when capturing prey. Suctionand ram-suction-feeding elasmobranchs can also use suction inflowto draw prey to them from a short distance, while ram-feedingsharks must accelerate and overtake the prey. The relationshipbetween feeding strategy and ecology may depend in part on ecological,mechanistic or evolutionary specialization. Mechanistic suction-feedingspecialist elasmobranchs are primarily benthic, while most epibenthicand pelagic elasmobranchs are generalists and use ram, suction,and biting to catch a diversity of prey in various habitats.Some shark species are considered to be ecological specialistsin choosing certain kinds of prey over others. Batoids are evolutionaryspecialists in having a flattened morphology and most are generalistfeeders. Filter-feeding elasmobranchs are ecological, mechanistic,and evolutionary specialists.     

Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE): explanation and elaboration

Much medical research is observational. The reporting of observational studies is often of insufficient quality. Poor reporting hampers the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of a study and the generalisability of its results. Taking into account empirical evidence and theoretical considerations, a group of methodologists, researchers, and editors developed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) recommendations to improve the quality of reporting of observational studies. The STROBE Statement consists of a checklist of 22 items, which relate to the title, abstract, introduction, methods, results and discussion sections of articles. Eighteen items are common to cohort studies, case-control studies and cross-sectional studies and four are specific to each of the three study designs. The STROBE Statement provides guidance to authors about how to improve the reporting of observational studies and facilitates critical appraisal and interpretation of studies by reviewers, journal editors and readers. This explanatory and elaboration document is intended to enhance the use, understanding, and dissemination of the STROBE Statement. The meaning and rationale for each checklist item are presented. For each item, one or several published examples and, where possible, references to relevant empirical studies and methodological literature are provided. Examples of useful flow diagrams are also included. The STROBE Statement, this document, and the associated Web site (http://www.strobe-statement.org/) should be helpful resources to improve reporting of observational research.     

Thermal stress and coral cover as drivers of coral disease outbreaks

Very little is known about how environmental changes such as increasing temperature affect disease dynamics in the ocean, especially at large spatial scales. We asked whether the frequency of warm temperature anomalies is positively related to the frequency of coral disease across 1,500 km of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. We used a new high-resolution satellite dataset of ocean temperature and 6 y of coral disease and coral cover data from annual surveys of 48 reefs to answer this question. We found a highly significant relationship between the frequencies of warm temperature anomalies and of white syndrome, an emergent disease, or potentially, a group of diseases, of Pacific reef-building corals. The effect of temperature was highly dependent on coral cover because white syndrome outbreaks followed warm years, but only on high (>50%) cover reefs, suggesting an important role of host density as a threshold for outbreaks. Our results indicate that the frequency of temperature anomalies, which is predicted to increase in most tropical oceans, can increase the susceptibility of corals to disease, leading to outbreaks where corals are abundant.     

RCAN1-1L is overexpressed in neurons of Alzheimer's disease patients

At least two different isoforms of RCAN1 mRNA are expressed in neuronal cells in normal human brain. Although RCAN1 mRNA is elevated in brain regions affected by Alzheimer's disease, it is not known whether the disease affects neuronal RCAN1, or if other cell types (e.g. astrocytes or microglia) are affected. It is also unknown how many protein isoforms are expressed in human brain and whether RCAN1 protein is overexpressed in Alzheimer's disease. We explored the expression of both RCAN1-1 and RCAN1-4 mRNA isoforms in various cell types in normal and Alzheimer's disease postmortem samples, using the combined technique of immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. We found that both exon 1 and exon 4 are predominantly expressed in neuronal cells, and no significant expression of either of the exons was observed in astocytes or microglial cells. This was true in both normal and Alzheimer's disease brain sections. We also demonstrate that RCAN1-1 mRNA levels are approximately two-fold higher in neurons from Alzheimer's disease patients versus non-Alzheimer's disease controls. Using western blotting, we now show that there are three RCAN1 protein isoforms expressed in human brain: RCAN1-1L, RCAN1-1S, and RCAN1-4. We have determined that RCAN1-1L is expressed at twice the level of RCAN1-4, and that there is very minor expression of RCAN1-1S. We also found that the RCAN1-1L protein is overexpressed in Alzheimer's disease patients, whereas RCAN1-4 is not. From these results, we conclude that RCAN1-1 may play a role in Alzheimer's disease, whereas RCAN1-4 may serve another purpose.     

Selective extraction of free astaxanthin from Haematococcus culture using a tandem organic solvent system

A novel tandem solvent process of dodecane and methanol was developed for the selective extraction of free astaxanthin from red encysted Haematococcus culture. The process consists of dodecane extraction for astaxanthin mixture from the culture (stage 1) and methanol extraction for free astaxanthin from the dodecane extract (stage 2). In the first stage, astaxanthin mixture was directly extracted to dodecane from the culture broth without cell harvest process, followed by a rapid separation of the dodecane extract and the culture medium containing cell debris by simple settling. In the second stage, free astaxanthin was selectively collected to methanol from the dodecane extract, accompanied with saponification of astaxanthin-esters by the addition of NaOH to methanol. During saponification, use of the optimum NaOH concentration (0.02 M) and low temperature (4 degrees C) reaction minimized the degradation of free astaxanthin, resulting in a total recovery yield of free astaxanthin of over 85%. The free-astaxanthin-containing methanol extract was also simply separated from dodecane by gravity settling, after which the astaxanthin-free dodecane was effectively recycled to the first stage, yielding a stable extractability of astaxanthin mixture during repeated extraction. Our results indicate the potential of the proposed tandem solvent process as an alternative extraction technology for the high-value antioxidant Haematococcus astaxanthin.     

早发性卵巢功能不全患者血清25-OH-VD、DBP、SIRT1与性激素和氧化应激的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨早发性卵巢功能不全（POI）患者血清25-羟基维生素D（25-OH-VD）、邻苯二甲酸二丁酯（DBP）、沉默信息调节因子2相关酶1（SIRT1）与性激素和氧化应激的关系。方法：选取2019年1月～2020年12月攀枝花学院附属医院妇产科收治的97例POI患者（POI组）,另选取同期54名体检健康女性（对照组）。检测两组血清性激素[卵泡刺激素（FSH）、黄体生成素（LH）、雌二醇（E2）、抗缪勒管激素（AMH）]、氧化应激[超氧化物岐化酶（SOD）、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH-Px）、丙二醛（MDA）]、25-OH-VD、DBP、SIRT1水平。采用Pearson/Spearman相关系数分析POI患者血清25-OH-VD、DBP、SIRT1与性激素、氧化应激指标的相关性,Logistic回归分析血清25-OH-VD、DBP、SIRT1与POI的关系。结果：POI组FSH、LH、MDA、DBP水平高于对照组,E2、AMH、SOD、GSH-Px、25-OH-VD、SIRT1水平低于对照组（P＜0.05）。Pearson/Spearman相关系数显示,POI患者血清25-OH-VD、SIRT1与FSH、LH、MDA呈负相关,与E2、AMH、SOD、GSH-Px呈正相关（P＜0.05）;血清DBP与FSH、LH、MDA呈正相关,与E2、AMH、SOD、GSH-Px呈负相关（P＜0.05）。Logistic回归分析显示,调整混杂因素后,25-OH-VD（OR＝0.825,95％CI：0.741～0.919）、SIRT1（OR＝0.872,95％CI：0.810～0.938）是POI发生的保护因素,DBP（OR＝1.173,95％CI：1.074～1.282）是危险因素（P＜0.05）。结论：POI患者血清25-OH-VD、SIRT1水平下调,DBP水平上调,与性激素和氧化应激相关,可能成为POI的辅助预测因子。     

柯萨奇病毒A组9型的基因分型方法的建立

血清型别鉴定及基因分型分析是开展肠道病毒（Enterovirus,EV）分子进化特征研究的重要内容。目前为止,国内外对柯萨奇病毒A组9型（Coxsackievirus A9,CVA9）的研究主要集中在衣壳蛋白区的细胞受体结合位点及其基因特性分析,而基于全长VP1序列的基因型划分结果尚未明确。本研究依托国家手足口病监测网络,对2010-2019年全国31个省级行政区（省、自治区、直辖市）上送的18 238份手足口病样本中分离出的24株CVA9进行全长VP1区序列测定,并与GenBank中所有全长VP1区序列一起进行基因型划分研究。测序结果显示24株CVA9分离株VP1全长为906bp,编码302个氨基酸,与CVA9原型株（Griggs）核苷酸和氨基酸相似性分别为80.5%～97.6%和92.3%～99.6%。结合系统进化树和同一血清型内不同基因型的核苷酸差异界值为15%～25%,将全球CVA9划分为A-H八个基因型。进化树显示B、C和D基因型在病毒进化过程中已消失,而E、F和G基因型呈现共循环的趋势,其中G基因型包含了亚洲、北美洲、大洋洲和欧洲等9个国家的毒株,是CVA9的优势基因型。大...     

滇东南普阳盆地含煤地层孢粉组合特征及其年代

云南地处青藏高原东南缘, 生物多样性丰富, 季风气候特征明显。新生代剧烈的构造活动形成了众多山间盆地, 其间保存了大量精美的植物化石, 是探讨新生代以来植被、植物多样性和地球环境演变的理想地区。但是长期以来, 由于地层年代学证据的缺乏, 这些新生代沉积盆地的地质年代还存在很大争议。本研究通过对滇东南地区富宁县普阳盆地的含煤地层开展深入的孢粉学研究, 探讨盆地含煤地层年代及其古气候演化过程。剖面下部煤层孢粉组合以杉粉属(Taxodiaceaepollenites)为主, 指示以杉科为主的湿润沼泽森林, 冬春季相对湿润; 剖面上部孢粉组合指示以常绿栎类为主的亚热带常绿‒落叶阔叶混交林, 生长山核桃粉属(Caryapollenites)、冬青粉属(Ilexpollenites)、胡桃粉属(Juglanspollenites)、枫香粉属(Liquidambarpollenites)等亚热带常见树种, 气候温暖湿润, 季节分明。结合新发现的哺乳动物化石证据和周边地区不同地质时代的孢粉组合, 普阳盆地含煤地层的沉积时代应为晚始新世; 同时, 孢粉组合也表明滇东南地区植被现代化面貌至少在晚始新世就已经开始出现。