Marine mammal culling programs: review of effects on predator and prey populations

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Modulating the Intrinsic Disorder in the Cytoplasmic Domain Alters the Biological Activity of the N-Methyl-d-aspartate-sensitive Glutamate Receptor

The NMDA-sensitive glutamate receptor is a ligand-gated ion channel that mediates excitatory synaptic transmission in the nervous system. Extracellular zinc allosterically regulates the NMDA receptor by binding to the extracellular N-terminal domain, which inhibits channel gating. Phosphorylation of the intrinsically disordered intracellular C-terminal domain alleviates inhibition by extracellular zinc. The mechanism for this functional effect is largely unknown. Proline is a hallmark of intrinsic disorder, so we used proline mutagenesis to modulate disorder in the cytoplasmic domain. Proline depletion selectively uncoupled zinc inhibition with little effect on receptor biogenesis, surface trafficking, or ligand-activated gating. Proline depletion also reduced the affinity for a PDZ domain involved in synaptic trafficking and affected small molecule binding. To understand the origin of these phenomena, we used single molecule fluorescence and ensemble biophysical methods to characterize the structural effects of proline mutagenesis. Proline depletion did not eliminate intrinsic disorder, but the underlying conformational dynamics were changed. Thus, we altered the form of intrinsic disorder, which appears sufficient to affect the biological activity. These findings suggest that conformational dynamics within the intrinsically disordered cytoplasmic domain are important for the allosteric regulation of NMDA receptor gating.     

苏打盐渍土草原植被群落分布与土壤理化性质相互关系

对羊草、星星草、虎尾草和碱蓬4中植被类型及碱斑裸地下苏打盐渍土0～30 cm剖面的化学和物理性质进行了测定,分析了苏打盐渍土草原植被群落分布与土壤理化性质的相互关系。结果表明:按羊草、星星草、虎尾草、碱蓬和碱斑的排列顺序,苏打盐渍土理化性质不断恶化;0～10 cm剖面的土壤饱和浸提液电导率(EC e),碱化度(ESP)、pH和土壤容重是影响群落分布的决定性因素;植被群落分布情况可以定性反映土壤的盐渍化程度和物理性质;植被生长可以影响盐渍土的理化性质;植被生长改变了土壤剖面ECe和ESP的分布规律,在有植被群落分布的土壤上,ECe和ESP均随剖面深度的增加而升高,而在无植被生长的碱斑地,二者均随剖面深度的增加而降低;植物生长可在一定程度上改善土壤的结构系数和饱和导水率。     

抑制瘢痕细胞中串珠素表达对Ⅰ型胶原蛋白生成量的影响

目的：硬膜外瘢痕,又叫硬膜外纤维化,是指在硬膜外腔的手术涉及范围内形成的瘢痕组织或纤维化,是机体对创伤的修复反应。瘢痕的粘连和收缩会牵拉硬膜和神经根,限制其活动,被瘢痕包绕的神经根受到非正常的牵拉和挤压,神经纤维的轴浆运输、动脉血供、静脉回流受阻,神经根和背侧神经节对机械压迫很敏感,会产生一系列症状,如疼痛、麻木及下肢肌力降低等。近年来,对硬膜外瘢痕防治的研究大多是椎板切除术后如何通过物理或化学屏障来减少术后因瘢痕粘连导致的并发症。但对通过瘢痕形成过程中抑制其主要构成成分的生成来减轻椎板切除术后硬膜外瘢痕形成的相关研究还较少。通过减少椎板切除术后硬膜外瘢痕主要成分Ⅰ型胶原蛋白的生成来实现抑制椎板切除术后硬膜外瘢痕的形成。方法：选用30只250克两月鼠龄的SD雄性大鼠随机按1、2、3、4、5、6周分为6组,行后路4、5腰椎全椎板切除术。术后1、2、3、4、5、6周时每周取一组大鼠全锥板切除术后硬膜后方瘢痕组织,分别行病理切片HE染色,组织块贴壁法细胞培养。筛选第三周瘢痕组织培养的成纤维细胞进行慢病毒干扰串珠素表达并设对照组,通过Western-blot、RT-PCR分析Ⅰ型胶原蛋白生成量与对照组的差别并进行统计学分析。结果：慢病毒干扰小组Ⅰ型胶原蛋白生成量较对照组及纯病毒组明显减少（RT-PCR F=509.331,q A,B=-43.371,P〈0.01,q A,C=-46.133,P〈0.01,Western-Blot F=337.578;q A,B=-112.433,P〈0.01,q A,C=-89.227,P〈0.01）。结论：干扰串珠素表达能有效减少术后硬膜外瘢痕成纤维细胞生成Ⅰ型胶原蛋白,对抑制椎板切除术后硬膜外瘢痕形成应有一定作用。通过慢病毒介导的shRNA干扰成纤维细胞中的串珠素后,其生成的Ⅰ型胶原蛋白量与对照组相比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）,这说明通过抑制瘢痕成纤维细胞的串珠素表达能够有效减少Ⅰ型胶原蛋白的生成。这种方法不论从Ⅰ型胶原蛋白是瘢痕主要构成成分方面,还是Ⅰ型胶原蛋白在瘢痕生成过程中分泌胶原中占得比例增多导致机体由胎儿期的无瘢痕愈合转化至成体的瘢痕愈合这个方面来将,理论上都能够做到有效地抑制、减少硬膜外瘢痕的形成,因此通过干扰硬膜外成纤维细胞串珠素表达从而达到抑制硬膜外瘢痕的形成这一理论是可行的,为进一步进行椎板切除术后抑制硬膜外瘢痕形成的体内试验奠定了理论基础。     

Household Transmission of Rotavirus in a Community with Rotavirus Vaccination in Quininde,Ecuador

Background

We studied the transmission of rotavirus infection in households in peri-urban Ecuador in the vaccination era.

Methods

Stool samples were collected from household contacts of child rotavirus cases, diarrhea controls and healthy controls following presentation of the index child to health facilities. Rotavirus infection status of contacts was determined by RT-qPCR. We examined factors associated with transmissibility (index-case characteristics) and susceptibility (household-contact characteristics).

Results

Amongst cases, diarrhea controls and healthy control household contacts, infection attack rates (iAR) were 55%, 8% and 2%, (n = 137, 130, 137) respectively. iARs were higher from index cases with vomiting, and amongst siblings. Disease ARs were higher when the index child was <18 months and had vomiting, with household contact <10 years and those sharing a room with the index case being more susceptible. We found no evidence of asymptomatic infections leading to disease transmission.

Conclusion

Transmission rates of rotavirus are high in households with an infected child, while background infections are rare. We have identified factors associated with transmission (vomiting/young age of index case) and susceptibility (young age/sharing a room/being a sibling of the index case). Vaccination may lead to indirect benefits by averting episodes or reducing symptoms in vaccinees.     

Detection and Identification of Hematologic Malignancies and Solid Tumors by an Electrochemical Technique

PurposeDevelop and evaluate an electrochemical method to identify healthy individuals, malignant hematopathic patients and solid tumor patients by detecting the leukocytes in whole-blood.MethodsA total of 114 individual blood samples obtained from our affiliated hospital in China (June 2015- August 2015) were divided into three groups: healthy individuals (n = 35), hematologic malignancies (n = 41) and solid tumors (n = 38). An electrochemical workstation system was used to measure differential pulse voltammetry due to the different electrochemical behaviors of leukocytes in blood samples. Then, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to analyze the scanning curves and to compare the peak potential and peak current.ResultsThe scanning curve demonstrated the specific electrochemical behaviors of the blank potassium ferricyanide solution and that mixed with blood samples in different groups. Significant differences in mean peak potentials of mixture and shifts (ΔEp (mV)) were observed of the three groups (P< = 0.001). 106.00±9.00 and 3.14±7.48 for Group healthy individuals, 120.90±11.18 and 18.10±8.81 for Group hematologic malignancies, 136.84±11.53 and 32.89±10.50 for Group solid tumors, respectively. In contrast, there were no significant differences in the peak currents and shifts.ConclusionsThe newly developed method to apply the electrochemical workstation system to identify hematologic malignancies and solid tumors with good sensitivity and specificity might be effective, suggesting a potential utility in clinical application.     

Association of three single nucleotide polymorphisms at the SIX1-SIX6 locus with primary open angle glaucoma in the Chinese population

This study investigated the genetic association of three single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs; rs10483727, rs33912345, and rs146737847) at the SIX1-SIX6 locus with primary open angle glaucoma(POAG) in the Chinese population. A total of 866 subjects with POAG(685 high-tension glaucoma(HTG) and 181 normal-tension glaucoma(NTG)) and 266 control individuals were included. Significant genetic association was identified for rs10483727 in HTG(P=0.02; odds ratio(OR)=1.31), NTG(P=7.41×10~(-6); OR=2.71), and POAG(i.e., HTG and NTG combined; P=0.001; OR=1.44). rs33912345 was also significantly associated with HTG(P=0.008; OR=1.36), NTG(P=2.72×10~(-6); OR=2.27), and POAG(P=3.84×10~(-4); OR=1.49). The rare SIX6 mutation, rs146737847, was not found in the subjects enrolled in this study. Stratification by patient age identified that both rs10483727 and rs33912345 were significantly associated with NTG in patients aged above 40 years(P=2.08×10~(-5); OR=2.28), whereas in patients aged between 20–40 years, rs33912345 was significantly associated with NTG(P=0.017; OR=2.06). In HTG, the genetic associations for both rs10483727 and rs33912345 were significant in patients aged between 20–40 years(P=0.006; OR=1.56) but not in those aged above 40 years(P=0.118, OR=1.21 and P=0.042, OR=1.29, respectively). This study replicated the association of POAG with two SNPs at the SIX1-SIX6 locus and demonstrated that SNPs, rs10483727 and rs33912345, are significantly associated with POAG, especially with NTG in patients aged above 40 years.