不同生长调节剂及基质对越南粉苞茉莉扦插生根的影响

为探索越南粉苞茉莉(Jasminum dichotomum)扦插生根的影响因素,建立扦插繁育技术体系,以1年生越南粉苞茉莉枝条为插穗,采用L16(44)正交试验,探讨生长调节剂种类及其浓度、处理时间、基质种类对越南粉苞茉莉茎段扦插生根的影响,利用排队评分法和公式评分法对正交试验进行分析。结果表明,A2B3C3D2为试验的最优处理组合,即将插穗在250 mg·L-1 IBA和500 mg·L-1 NAA混合药剂中浸泡20 min后扦插于沙子上。     

Neuroprotection against CCl4 induced brain damage with crocin in Wistar rats

Owing to its lipophilic property, carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) is rapidly absorbed by both the liver and brain. We investigated the protective effects of crocin against brain damage caused by CCl₄. Fifty rats were divided into five groups of ten: control, corn oil, crocin, CCl₄ and CCl₄ + crocin. CCl₄ administration decreased glutathione (GSH) and total antioxidant status (TAS) levels, and catalase (CAT) activity, while significant increases were observed in malondialdehyde (MDA) and total oxidant status (TOS) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The cerebral cortex nuclear lamina developed a spongy appearance, neuronal degeneration was observed in the hippocampus, and heterochromatic and pyknotic neurons with increased cytoplasmic eosinophilia were observed in the hippocampus after CCl₄ treatment. Because crocin exhibits strong antioxidant properties, crocin treatment increased GSH and TAS levels and CAT activities, and decreased MDA and TOS levels and SOD activity; significant improvements also were observed in histologic architecture. We found that crocin administration nearly eliminated CCl₄ induced brain damage by preventing oxidative stress.     

Exercise training in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: a controlled randomized trial

Introduction

Exercise training has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy to counteract physical dysfunction in adult systemic lupus erythematosus. However, no longitudinal studies have evaluated the effects of an exercise training program in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (C-SLE) patients. The objective was to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of a supervised aerobic training program in improving the cardiorespiratory capacity in C-SLE patients.

Methods

Nineteen physically inactive C-SLE patients were randomly assigned into two groups: trained (TR, n = 10, supervised moderate-intensity aerobic exercise program) and non-trained (NT, n = 9). Gender-, body mass index (BMI)- and age-matched healthy children were recruited as controls (C, n = 10) for baseline (PRE) measurements only. C-SLE patients were assessed at PRE and after 12 weeks of training (POST). Main measurements included exercise tolerance and cardiorespiratory measurements in response to a maximal exercise (that is, peak VO₂, chronotropic reserve (CR), and the heart rate recovery (ΔHRR) (that is, the difference between HR at peak exercise and at both the first (ΔHRR1) and second (ΔHRR2) minutes of recovery after exercise).

Results

The C-SLE NT patients did not present changes in any of the cardiorespiratory parameters at POST (P > 0.05). In contrast, the exercise training program was effective in promoting significant increases in time-to-exhaustion (P = 0.01; ES = 1.07), peak speed (P = 0.01; ES = 1.08), peak VO₂ (P = 0.04; ES = 0.86), CR (P = 0.06; ES = 0.83), and in ΔHRR1 and ΔHRR2 (P = 0.003; ES = 1.29 and P = 0.0008; ES = 1.36, respectively) in the C-SLE TR when compared with the NT group. Moreover, cardiorespiratory parameters were comparable between C-SLE TR patients and C subjects after the exercise training intervention, as evidenced by the ANOVA analysis (P > 0.05, TR vs. C). SLEDAI-2K scores remained stable throughout the study.

Conclusion

A 3-month aerobic exercise training was safe and capable of ameliorating the cardiorespiratory capacity and the autonomic function in C-SLE patients.

Trial registration

NCT01515163.     

Social Tolerance in Wild Female Crested Macaques (Macaca nigra) in Tangkoko‐Batuangus Nature Reserve,Sulawesi, Indonesia

In primates, females typically drive the evolution of the social system and present a wide diversity of social structures. To understand this diversity, it is necessary to document the consistency and/or flexibility of female social structures across and within species, contexts, and environments. Macaques (Macaca sp.) are an ideal taxon for such comparative study, showing both consistency and variation in their social relations. Their social styles, constituting robust sets of social traits, can be classified in four grades, from despotic to tolerant. However, tolerant species are still understudied, especially in the wild. To foster our understanding of tolerant societies and to assess the validity of the concept of social style, we studied female crested macaques, Macaca nigra, under entirely natural conditions. We assessed their degree of social tolerance by analyzing the frequency, intensity, and distribution of agonistic and affiliative behaviors, their dominance gradient, their bared‐teeth display, and their level of conciliatory tendency. We also analyzed previously undocumented behavioral patterns in grade 4 macaques: reaction upon approach and distribution of affiliative behavior across partners. We compared the observed patterns to data from other populations of grade 4 macaques and from species of other grades. Overall, female crested macaques expressed a tolerant social style, with low intensity, frequently bidirectional, and reconciled conflicts. Dominance asymmetry was moderate, associated with an affiliative bared‐teeth display. Females greatly tolerated one another in close proximity. The observed patterns matched the profile of other tolerant macaques and were outside the range of patterns of more despotic species. This study is the first comprehensive analysis of females’ social behavior in a tolerant macaque species under natural conditions and as such, contributes to a better understanding of macaque societies. It also highlights the relevance of the social style concept in the assessment of the degree of tolerance/despotism in social systems. Am. J. Primatol. 75:361‐375, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mutants impaired in vacuolar metal mobilization identify chloroplasts as a target for cadmium hypersensitivity in Arabidopsis thaliana

Cadmium (Cd) is highly toxic to plants causing growth reduction and chlorosis. It binds thiols and competes with essential transition metals. It affects major biochemical processes such as photosynthesis and the redox balance, but the connection between cadmium effects at the biochemical level and its deleterious effect on growth has seldom been established. In this study, two Cd hypersensitive mutants, cad1‐3 impaired in phytochelatin synthase (PCS1), and nramp3nramp4 impaired in release of vacuolar metal stores, have been compared. The analysis combines genetics with measurements of photosynthetic and antioxidant functions. Loss of AtNRAMP3 and AtNRAMP4 function or of PCS1 function leads to comparable Cd sensitivity. Root Cd hypersensitivities conferred by cad1‐3 and nramp3nramp4 are cumulative. The two mutants contrast in their tolerance to oxidative stress. In nramp3nramp4, the photosynthetic apparatus is severely affected by Cd, whereas it is much less affected in cad1‐3. In agreement with chloroplast being a prime target for Cd toxicity in nramp3nramp4, the Cd hypersensitivity of this mutant is alleviated in the dark. The Cd hypersensitivity of nramp3nramp4 mutant highlights the critical role of vacuolar metal stores to supply essential metals to plastids and maintain photosynthetic function under Cd and oxidative stresses.     

以小时为步长的大兴安岭兴安落叶松林地表可燃物含水率预测模型

应用时滞平衡含水率法(包括Nelson和Simard两种)及气象要素回归法,以小时为步长对大兴安岭地区阳坡上部落叶松林下地表细小死可燃物进行动态含水率测定,分析了不同郁闭度林分的预测误差.结果表明:以小时为步长的可燃物含水率预测方法适用于大兴安岭地区的典型落叶松林分,Simard法预测平均绝对误差为1.1%,平均相对误差为8.5%,低于Nelson法和传统的气象要素回归法,接近同类研究的误差范围;同一坡度、坡位上,不同郁闭度下的可燃物含水率变化差异较大,使用以小时为步长的可燃物含水率预测方法,应根据不同地区林分和地点选择合适的平衡含水率模型,或建立基于林分的可燃物含水率模型.     

Effects of curcumin on methyl methanesulfonate damage to mouse kidney

Methylmethane sulfonate (MMS) is an alkylating agent that may react with DNA and damage it. We investigated histological changes and apoptosis caused by MMS and the effects of curcumin on MMS treated mouse kidneys. Twenty-four mice were divided into four equal groups: controls injected with saline, a group injected with 40 mg/kg MMS, a group injected with 40 mg/kg MMS and given 100 mg/kg curcumin by gavage, and a group given 100 mg/kg curcumin by gavage. MMS caused congestion and vacuole formation, and elevated the apoptotic index significantly, but had no other effect on kidney tissue. Curcumin improved the congestion and vacuole formation caused by MMS and decreased the apoptotic index. Curcumin administered with MMS appears to decrease the deleterious effects of MMS on the kidney.     

Isolation,characterization and evaluation of 11 autosomal STRs suitable for population studies in black and gold howler monkeys Alouatta caraya

We identified 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers for Alouatta caraya. Three markers were isolated from an enriched genomic library of A. caraya (AC14, AC17, AC45), five were previously described in Homo sapiens (TGMS1, TGMS2, D5S117, D8S165, D17S804), and three were identified for Lagothix lagotricha (1110, 1118, 157). Forty‐eight individuals from one Argentinean population were genotyped, yielding heterozygosity values between 0.146 and 0.792. These markers provide an exclusion power of 0.922 when neither parent is known (0.992 when one parent is known) and are suitable for parentage analysis, population genetics and phylogeographical studies of A. caraya, the southernmost primate in the New World.     

特定频谱波对水电导率影响的研究

目的:为了研究特定频谱波引起的水中离子浓度的变化以及电导率与频谱波间相互作用的规律,用特定频谱波对理化特性略有不同的纯净水、自来水、海水进行影响,研究其电导率的变化。方法:采用一元线性回归分析的方法对数据散点进行拟和,用方差分析来评价其拟合效果,以期发现其中的规律。结果:经过频谱波的影响各种水的电导率都有明显的提高,并且随着处理次数的增加,纯净水的电导率呈阶越式方式增加;自来水呈对数形式增加;而海水则表现为变化幅度微小。结论:造成这个现象的原因可能是由于水分子吸收了频谱波的能量,分子的平均动能增大造成的。这一过程使化学平衡(H2O)n≒xH2O (H2O)n-x和H2O≒ H OH-均向分解的方向运动,水中带电离子的浓度提高,因此电导率发生变化。而电导率提高方式的差异,则是水样在理化特性上的差异导致的。