Exploring beliefs behind support for and opposition to wildlife management methods: a qualitative study

Wildlife management methods such as culling (lethal control) and fencing can be controversial in some circumstances. Such controversy can be problematic for decision-makers or those managing decision-making processes and can lead to management delays or inertia. Understanding the reasons why people support or oppose specific management methods is therefore an important objective for researchers. Attitudes towards methods are in part based on individual beliefs about those methods, the species of wildlife being managed and other associated phenomena. This paper adopts a qualitative approach to develop understanding of these beliefs. We conducted 17 focus-groups on wild deer management at two locations in Britain, with both ‘professional’ land manager and ‘public’ participants (n?=?103). We identified a number of individual beliefs which are grouped into five categories: naturalness, overabundance, impacts, effectiveness and animal welfare. Our findings suggest that potentially controversial management methods will receive most support where the objective is to maintain a ‘natural’ environment, at sites where impacts are evident, and when using targeted and effective methods.     

浙江建德青冈常绿阔叶林凋落量研究

 本文报道了浙江建德青冈常绿阔叶林的凋落量及各类凋落物的凋落特征。 6年的测定结果表明,青冈林的年均凋落量为5547.6kg/(hm2·a),其中枯叶量占68.32%,枯枝、落果、其它凋落物各占14.82%、15.04%和1.82%。各类凋落量具有明显的季节与年际变化规律,其季节分配还具年际波动现象。各类凋落物的凋落特征从一定角度反映了植物群落一般的生物学与生态学特性,以及植物对特殊环境条件的适应性。     

A robust two-gene signature for glioblastoma survival prediction

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly malignant brain tumor. We explored the prognostic gene signature in 443 GBM samples by systematic bioinformatics analysis, using GSE16011 with microarray expression and corresponding clinical data from Gene Expression Omnibus as the training set. Meanwhile, patients from The Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas database (CGGA) were used as the test set and The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA) as the validation set. Through Cox regression analysis, Kaplan-Meier analysis, t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding algorithm, clustering, and receiver operating characteristic analysis, a two-gene signature (GRIA2 and RYR3) associated with survival was selected in the GSE16011 dataset. The GRIA2-RYR3 signature divided patients into two risk groups with significantly different survival in the GSE16011 dataset (median: 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64-0.98, vs median: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.65-1.61 years, logrank test P < .001), the CGGA dataset (median: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.70-1.18, vs median: 1.21, 95% CI: 0.95-2.94 years, logrank test P = .0017), and the TCGA dataset (median: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.86-1.24, vs median: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.04-1.85 years, logrank test P = .0064), validating the predictive value of the signature. And the survival predictive potency of the signature was independent from clinicopathological prognostic features in multivariable Cox analysis. We found that after transfection of U87 cells with small interfering RNA, GRIA2 and RYR3 influenced the biological behaviors of proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioblastoma cells. In conclusion, the two-gene signature was a robust prognostic model to predict GBM survival.     

Biochemical characterization and substrate profiling of a new NADH-dependent enoate reductase from Lactobacillus casei

Carbon-carbon double bond of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds can be reduced by enoate reductase (ER), which is an important reaction in fine chemical synthesis. A putative enoate reductase gene from Lactobacillus casei str. Zhang was cloned into pET-21a+ and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) host cells. The encoded enzyme (LacER) was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and treatment in an acidic buffer. This enzyme was identified as a NADH-dependent enoate reductase, which had a K(m) of 0.034 ± 0.006 mM and k(cat) of (3.2 ± 0.2) × 103 s?1 toward NADH using 2-cyclohexen-1-one as the substrate. Its K(m) and k(cat) toward substrate 2-cyclohexen-1-one were 1.94 ± 0.04 mM and (8.4 ± 0.2) × 103 s?1, respectively. The enzyme showed a maximum activity at pH 8.0-9.0. The optimum temperature of the enzyme was 50-55°C, and LacER was relatively stable below 60 °C. The enzyme was active toward aliphatic alkenyl aldehyde, ketones and some cyclic anhydrides. Substituted groups of cyclic α,β-unsaturated ketones and its ring size have positive or negative effects on activity. (R)-(-)-Carvone was reduced to (2R,5R)-dihydrocarvone with 99% conversion and 98% (diasteromeric excess: de) stereoselectivity, indicating a high synthetic potential of LacER in asymmetric synthesis.     

Serum hemorphin‐7 levels are decreased in obesity

Objective:

Hemorphin peptides exhibit biological activities that interfere with the endorphin system, the inflammatory response, and blood‐pressure control. VV‐hemorphin‐7 and LVV‐hemorphin‐7 peptides exert a hypotensive effect, in particular, by inhibiting the renin–angiotensin system. Furthermore, levels of circulating hemorphin‐7 peptides have been found to be decreased in diseases such as type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Design and Methods:

Because type 2 diabetes and obesity share common features, such as insulin resistance, microinflammation, high glomerular‐filtration rate (GFR), and cardiovascular risk, we evaluated serum VV‐hemorphin‐7 like immunoreactivity (VVH7‐i.r.) levels, using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay method, on a group of 54 obese subjects without diabetes or hypertension, compared with a group of 33 healthy normal‐weight subjects.

Results:

Circulating VVH7‐i.r. levels were significantly decreased in the obese group compared with the control group (1.98 ± 0.19 vs. 4.86 ± 0.54 µmol/l, respectively, P < 0.01), and a significant negative correlation between VVH7‐i.r. and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was found in obese patients (r = ?0.35, P = 0.011). There was no significant correlation between VVH7‐i.r. level and insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, or GFR.

Conclusions:

The decreased serum hemorphin‐7 found in obese subjects, as in diabetes, may contribute to the development of hypertension and to the cardiovascular risk associated with these metabolic diseases.

     

尿激酶胸腔注入治疗结核包囊性胸腔积液

目的寻求治疗结核包囊性胸腔积液的新方法。方法胸膜活检确诊为结核性胸腔积液并经Ｂ超或胸部Ｘ线证实有粘连包囊的病人１５例,经胸腔内注入尿激酶每次１０万单位,用６０ｍｌ生理盐水稀释,每８～１２ｈ重复,连续５次,每次记录抽取胸水总量,并复查Ｂ超观察粘连包囊情况。对照组为单纯用抗结核治疗及间断抽胸水１５例。结果实验组１３例有效,总有效率８６．７％。对照组２例有效,有效率１３．３％,疗效明显优于对照组（Ｐ＜０．０５）。结论尿激酶胸腔内注入是治疗结核性粘连包囊性胸腔积液的一种安全可靠的新方法。     

The regulation of necroptosis by ubiquitylation

Necroptosis is a programmed necrosis that is mediated by receptor-interacting protein kinases RIPK1, RIPK3 and the mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein, MLKL. Necroptosis must be strictly regulated to maintain normal tissue homeostasis, and dysregulation of necroptosis leads to the development of various inflammatory, infectious, and degenerative diseases. Ubiquitylation is a widespread post-translational modification that is essential for balancing numerous physiological processes. Over the past decade, considerable progress has been made in the understanding of the role of ubiquitylation in regulating necroptosis. Here, we will discuss the regulatory functions of ubiquitylation in necroptosis signaling pathway. An enhanced understanding of the ubiquitylation enzymes and regulatory proteins in necroptotic signaling pathway will be exploited for the development of new therapeutic strategies for necroptosis-related diseases.