Nepro is localized in the nucleolus and essential for preimplantation development in mice

We generated knockout (KO) mice of Nepro, which has been shown to be necessary to maintain neural progenitor cells downstream of Notch in the mouse developing neocortex by using knockdown experiments, to explore its function in embryogenesis. Nepro KO embryos were morphologically indistinguishable from wild type (WT) embryos until the morula stage but failed in blastocyst formation, and many cells of the KO embryos resulted in apoptosis. We found that Nepro was localized in the nucleolus at the blastocyst stage. The number of nucleolus precursor bodies (NPBs) and nucleoli per nucleus was significantly higher in Nepro KO embryos compared with WT embryos later than the 2‐cell stage. Furthermore, at the morula stage, whereas 18S rRNA and ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6), which are components of the ribosome, were distributed to the cytoplasm in WT embryos, they were mainly localized in the nucleoli in Nepro KO embryos. In addition, in Nepro KO embryos, the amount of the mitochondria‐associated p53 protein increased, and Cytochrome c was distributed in the cytoplasm. These findings indicate that Nepro is a nucleolus‐associated protein, and its loss leads to the apoptosis before blastocyst formation in mice.     

实验动物屏障系统微生物动态状况

目的研究运行中的实验动物屏障系统微生物的情况。方法采用沉降菌法、棉拭子法等方法,研究运行中的屏障系统不同区域、不同环境指标下屏障系统内微生物的状况。结果动态下的屏障系统微生物情况与国标GB14925-2001中静态环境有较大不同,动物饲养室和动物实验室沉降菌浓度远高于静态要求;辅助区域在规范化消毒及严格管理的情况下,能达到国标要求。屏障系统的微生物情况存在一定的昼夜变化规律,在晚间出现峰值。结论合适的换气次数可有效控制实验动物屏障系统的沉降菌浓度;加强消毒及硬件的管理,是屏障系统内环境稳定的保障。     

Decreased binding of [11C]NNC112 and [11C]SCH23390 in patients with chronic schizophrenia

AimsAbnormality of cognitive function in schizophrenia has been suggested to be related to dopamine D₁ receptor. However, the results of previous positron emission tomography (PET) studies of dopamine D₁ receptor in schizophrenia were not consistent.Main methodsIn this study, six patients with schizophrenia in severe residual phase with chronic antipsychotic treatment and twelve healthy age-matched controls participated. Two different radioligands, [¹¹C]NNC112 and [¹¹C]SCH23390, for dopamine D₁ receptor were used on the same subjects. Binding of the ligands was measured by PET, and statistical analysis was performed using one-way analysis of covariate (ANCOVA) with age as covariate.Key findingsGood correlations between binding potential values (BP_ND) and age were observed in all regions of interest (ROIs) with both ligands. ANCOVA with age as covariate of BP_ND values of all ROIs revealed that the patient group showed significantly lower BP_ND value compared with the control group in both ligands.SignificanceIn patients with chronic schizophrenia in severe residual phase with chronic antipsychotic treatment, the binding potential values of both ligands were significantly lower in the striatum and cortical regions than those of healthy controls.     

Latitudinal gradients and the shaping of life‐history traits in a gregarious caterpillar

The present study aimed to investigate how the impact of several factors linked to geography would shape life‐history traits in a gregarious species, using the pine processionary moth (PPM) Thaumetopoea pityocampa as a model system. PPM has a wide geographical distribution over the Mediterranean Basin, and it is a strictly gregarious species throughout larval development, where the total reproductive output of each female forms a colony. We reviewed both published and unpublished data on PPM from all over its distribution in the Mediterranean Basin and extracted data on fecundity, egg size, egg parasitoid mortality, flight period, and development time. These life‐history traits were then related to location, expressed as latitude and altitude, local average temperatures, and host tree species. We found that PPM fecundity increaseed with latitude, concomitant with an increase in the length of development and an earlier onset of adult flight. These results are the opposite of that found in other Lepidoptera species with a wide geographical distribution, as well as in insects in general. We propose that a large colony size in PPM is important at higher latitudes because this confers an advantage for thermoregulation and tent building in areas where larvae have to face harsher conditions during the winter, thus shifting the optimal trade‐off between the number and size of eggs with latitude. However, host tree species also affected the relationship between egg number and size and the optimal outcome of these traits is likely a compromise between different selection pressures. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 100 , 224–236.     

镧系元素对海水小球藻的毒性效应

用评价化学品对藻类毒性的标准实验方法,研究了12种镧系元素对小球藻生长的抑制情况。结果表明,12种镧系元素抑制小球藻生长的96h半效应浓度(96h EC50 )均为2 9 0 0±0 5 0 μmol·L-1。对各剂量反应方程进行X2 检验,结果表明,符合精度要求,计算出的96h EC50 真实可靠。镧系元素对海水小球藻的生物毒性是相同的,此结果对探明镧系元素对藻类的生态毒理效应具有重要意义。