Acoustic intensity causes perceived changes in arousal levels in music: an experimental investigation

Listener perceptions of changes in the arousal expressed by classical music have been found to correlate with changes in sound intensity/loudness over time. This study manipulated the intensity profiles of different pieces of music in order to test the causal nature of this relationship. Listeners (N = 38) continuously rated their perceptions of the arousal expressed by each piece. An extract from Dvorak''s Slavonic Dance Opus 46 No 1 was used to create a variant in which the direction of change in intensity was inverted, while other features were retained. Even though it was only intensity that was inverted, perceived arousal was also inverted. The original intensity profile was also superimposed on three new pieces of music. The time variation in the perceived arousal of all pieces was similar to their intensity profile. Time series analyses revealed that intensity variation was a major influence on the arousal perception in all pieces, in spite of their stylistic diversity.     

肝癌自发性破裂出血的MRI诊断

目的:探讨肝癌自发性破裂出血的MRI图像特征。方法:对6例经手术或肝动脉血管造影确诊为原发性肝癌破裂出血患者的MR图像进行回顾性分析,总结其临床特点及MRI图像特征。结果:6例患者均行MR平扫及增强扫描,肝被膜下出血4例,腹腔内出血2例。出血表现为T1WI呈高或等信号,T2WI呈高或低信号,5例可清晰显示肿瘤破口。结论:MR诊断肝癌自发性破裂出血及时、准确,T1WI及延迟扫描冠状位图像对诊断有定性意义。     

Impact of translational selection on codon usage bias in the archaeon Methanococcus maripaludis

Patterns of codon usage have been extensively studied among Bacteria and Eukaryotes, but there has been little investigation of species from the third domain of life, the Archaea. Here, we examine the nature of codon usage bias in a methanogenic archaeon, Methanococcus maripaludis. Genome-wide patterns of codon usage are dominated by a strong A + T bias, presumably largely reflecting mutation patterns. Nevertheless, there is variation among genes in the use of a subset of putatively translationally optimal codons, which is strongly correlated with gene expression level. In comparison with Bacteria such as Escherichia coli, the strength of selected codon usage bias in highly expressed genes in M. maripaludis seems surprisingly high given its moderate growth rate. However, the pattern of selected codon usage differs between M. maripaludis and E. coli: in the archaeon, strongly selected codon usage bias is largely restricted to twofold degenerate amino acids (AAs). Weaker bias among the codons for fourfold degenerate AAs is consistent with the small number of tRNA genes in the M. maripaludis genome.     

"Bioplutonism" and the evolutionary implications of beneficial genes from another biosphere

Could exogenous genes from another biosphere have aided the evolution of life on Earth's surface over the last half-billion years? That possibility was considered by Thomas Gold in 1992, when he hypothesized that a “deep hot biosphere” (DHB) resides independently well below its cooler surface counterpart. And he suggested that “… in the long term … there may occasionally be beneficial exchanges of genetic material between microbial life at depth and the surface life.” Thus, the question: what evidence is there to support Gold's notion that exogenous genes from the DHB – let us call them “bioplutons” – ever bestowed benefits on the evolution of surface life? In pursuit of this question I drafted a null hypothesis: “Nothing beyond our own biosphere, as we know it today, renders any kind of genetic benefits to biological evolution.” After objectively analyzing the evidence and arguments pro and con I failed to reject the null hypothesis, given what we know today, especially the fact that no genetic imprint from the DHB has been identified in eukaryotic genomes. But my conclusion is regarded as tentative, because the fundamentals of Gold's argument, collectively referred to herein as “bioplutonism,” might be confirmed eventually with successful probes into the DHB, and with the sampling of its alleged genetic material.     

化感水稻种质资源鉴定及基因定位研究进展与展望

稻种资源化感作用的鉴定评价与深入研究是化感水稻品种选育的基础.本文概要介绍了化感水稻种质资源鉴定评价方法、化感作用生理生化机理以及化感特性遗传与基因定位方面的主要研究进展,并进一步讨论了水稻化感作用研究与利用的发展方向.     

The mitochondrial genome of Biomphalaria glabrata (Gastropoda: Basommatophora), intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni

The complete mitochondrial (Mt) genome of the gastropod Biomphalaria glabrata, a major intermediate host for the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni, was sequenced. The circular genome, the first determined from a basommatophoran snail, is AT rich (74.6%) and the smallest Mt genome (13,670 nucleotides [nt]) characterized from mollusks to date. Sequences from 2 B. glabrata strains, M-line and 1742, differed by only 18 nt. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S and ND1 sequences confirmed the Brazilian ancestry of both B. glabrata strains. Gene predictions indicated 22 transfer RNA, 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and 13 protein-encoding genes, as is typical for metazoans. Of the mollusk Mt genomes currently known, the gene order was most similar to that of stylommatophoran gastropods, concordant with the monophyly of pulmonate gastropods. Screening of GenBank (expressed sequence tags database [dbEST]) with the Mt sequence identified 108 entries from B. glabrata as Mt-derived sequences, including 12S and 16S rRNA sequences. Moreover, 11 sequences originating from the Mt genome of B. glabrata were identified among EST entries ascribed to intramolluskan stages of S. mansoni. The availability of this Mt sequence will facilitate further molecular investigations into the biology of Biomphalaria sp. and interactions between this intermediate host and intramolluskan stages of S. mansoni.