中国掌叶蝉属利叶蝉亚属分类研究(同翅目,叶蝉科,角顶叶蝉亚科)

对中国掌叶蝉属利叶蝉亚属进行了分类研究,我国现知4种,即横带掌叶蝉Handianus(Usuirontus)limbicosta (Jacobi)、双斑掌叶蝉H.(U.)limbfer(Matsumura)、冠斑掌叶蝉H.(U.)maculaticeps(Reuter)和条斑掌叶蝉H.(U.)ogikubonis(Matsumura),确认Usuironus quadrimaculatus Cai et Shen,1999是H.(U.)limbifer(Matsumura,1902)的新异名.文中提供了该亚属的鉴别特征和分种检索表、各种的地理分布、形态记述和特征图.     

α_(1A)-adrenergic receptor mediated pressor response to phenylephrine in anesthetized rat

To determine which subtype of α1-adrenergic receptors plays a role in the regulation of blood pressure, with α1A-adrenergic receptor-mediated vasoconstriction in perfused hindlimb as a control, we compared the inhibitory effects of various ai-adrenergic receptor selective antagonists on the vasopressure responses to phenylephrine between the mean arterial pressure and hindlimb perfusion pressure in anesthetized rats. In Normotensive Wistar rats, the results showed that the inhibitory effects (dose ratios of ED50, Dr) of α1-adrenoceptor selective antagonist (prazosin, Dr 13.5±3.6 vs.15.1±4.3, n = 11), α1A-adrenoceptor selective antagonist (5-methyl-urapidil, Dr 2.4±0.9 vs. 3.7±2.3, n = 12; RS-17053, Dr 3.2±1.6 vs. 4.4±3.3, n =12) and α1D-adrenoceptor selective antagonist (BMY7378, Dr 1.9±0.9 vs. 2.2±0.8, n = 8) on phenylephrine- induced increases of perfusion pressure in the autoperfused femoral beds were the same as that in the mean arterial blood pressure in normotensive Wistar rats. The i     

Confirming the phylogeny of mammals by use of large comparative sequence data sets

The ongoing generation of prodigious amounts of genomic sequence data from myriad vertebrates is providing unparalleled opportunities for establishing definitive phylogenetic relationships among species. The size and complexities of such comparative sequence data sets not only allow smaller and more difficult branches to be resolved but also present unique challenges, including large computational requirements and the negative consequences of systematic biases. To explore these issues and to clarify the phylogenetic relationships among mammals, we have analyzed a large data set of over 60 megabase pairs (Mb) of high-quality genomic sequence, which we generated from 41 mammals and 3 other vertebrates. All sequences are orthologous to a 1.9-Mb region of the human genome that encompasses the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR). To understand the characteristics and challenges associated with phylogenetic analyses of such a large data set, we partitioned the sequence data in several ways and utilized maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Neighbor-Joining algorithms, implemented in parallel on Linux clusters. These studies yielded well-supported phylogenetic trees, largely confirming other recent molecular phylogenetic analyses. Our results provide support for rooting the placental mammal tree between Atlantogenata (Xenarthra and Afrotheria) and Boreoeutheria (Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria), illustrate the difficulty in resolving some branches even with large amounts of data (e.g., in the case of Laurasiatheria), and demonstrate the valuable role that very large comparative sequence data sets can play in refining our understanding of the evolutionary relationships of vertebrates.     

两种机织型人造血管管壁的均匀特性研究

针对一些纺织型人造血管管壁的临床选择性破损特征,本文报告两种机织型人造血管管壁的均匀特性研究。通过对其整体、纱线、纤维三个层次的纺织结构性能以及相应的生物力学性能的研究,揭示此类人造血管不同的管壁纺织结构对其生物力学性能整体均匀性的影响,并由此从纺织结构的角度预测该类人造血管在临床应用中可能导致提前降解或破损的原因。研究结果提示在新型人造血管的设计中,要避免此类纺织结构的弱节与不均匀性。     

Multi-species sequence comparison reveals dynamic evolution of the elastin gene that has involved purifying selection and lineage-specific insertions/deletions

Background  

The elastin gene (ELN) is implicated as a factor in both supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS) and Williams Beuren Syndrome (WBS), two diseases involving pronounced complications in mental or physical development. Although the complete spectrum of functional roles of the processed gene product remains to be established, these roles are inferred to be analogous in human and mouse. This view is supported by genomic sequence comparison, in which there are no large-scale differences in the ~1.8 Mb sequence block encompassing the common region deleted in WBS, with the exception of an overall reversed physical orientation between human and mouse.     

Estimation of DNA Sequence Context-dependent Mutation Rates Using Primate Genomic Sequences

It is understood that DNA and amino acid substitution rates are highly sequence context-dependent, e.g., C --> T substitutions in vertebrates may occur much more frequently at CpG sites and that cysteine substitution rates may depend on support of the context for participation in a disulfide bond. Furthermore, many applications rely on quantitative models of nucleotide or amino acid substitution, including phylogenetic inference and identification of amino acid sequence positions involved in functional specificity. We describe quantification of the context dependence of nucleotide substitution rates using baboon, chimpanzee, and human genomic sequence data generated by the NISC Comparative Sequencing Program. Relative mutation rates are reported for the 96 classes of mutations of the form 5' alphabetagamma 3' --> 5' alphadeltagamma 3', where alpha, beta, gamma, and delta are nucleotides and beta not equal delta, based on maximum likelihood calculations. Our results confirm that C --> T substitutions are enhanced at CpG sites compared with other transitions, relatively independent of the identity of the preceding nucleotide. While, as expected, transitions generally occur more frequently than transversions, we find that the most frequent transversions involve the C at CpG sites (CpG transversions) and that their rate is comparable to the rate of transitions at non-CpG sites. A four-class model of the rates of context-dependent evolution of primate DNA sequences, CpG transitions > non-CpG transitions approximately CpG transversions > non-CpG transversions, captures qualitative features of the mutation spectrum. We find that despite qualitative similarity of mutation rates among different genomic regions, there are statistically significant differences.     

Isolation, genomic structure and developmental expression of Fgf8 in the short-tailed fruit bat, Carollia perspicillata

Fibroblast growth factor-8 (Fgf8) encodes a secreted protein which was initially identified as the factor responsible for androgen-dependant growth of mouse mammary carcinoma cells (Tanaka et al., 1992). Fgf8 has been subsequently implicated in the patterning and growth of the gastrulating embryo, paraxial mesoderm (somites), limbs, craniofacial tissues, central nervous system and other organ systems during the development of several vertebrate model animals. Consistent with these findings, Fgf8 is expressed in a complex and dynamic pattern during vertebrate embryogenesis. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a bat (Carollia perspicillata) Fgf8 orthologue. Compared with those of other model vertebrates, Carollia Fgf8 is conserved with respect to genomic structure, sequence and many domains of developmental expression pattern. Interestingly, the expression domain marking the apical ectodermal ridge of the developing limb shows a striking difference compared to that of mouse, consistent with evolutionary diversification of bat limb morphology.