杭州城市行道树带的繁殖鸟类及其鸟巢分布

2002年3～7月记录杭州城区24个城市行道树带中繁殖鸟类和鸟巢数量,估测或实测树带特征值,并以多元逐步回归法揭示其间关系。共记录到鸟类13种,鸟巢460个;白头鹎和集群繁殖的夜鹭、池鹭、牛背鹭的鸟巢数量占总巢数的83．9％。乌鸫、夜鹭等5种鸟倾向于在高树上筑巢,因此,整个鸟类群落的巢数随平均树高增加而增加。同样的正向联系还出现在下列变量之间：①叶高多样性与白腰文鸟和珠颈斑鸠巢数;②树冠盖度与白头鹎巢数;③树种数与珠颈斑鸠巢数;④树洞数与麻雀巢数;⑤至大片林地的距离与白腰文鸟巢数;⑥至主要水源距离与夜鹭巢数;⑦树带宽度与珠颈斑鸠巢数。另一方面,多数鸟类避免在行人容易接近的树带筑巢,而以白头鹎和珠颈斑鸠为显著。城市行道树带鸟巢的分布存在一定程度的种间差异,反映了鸟类不同的适应策略。     

千渭之会国家湿地公园典型植物底泥真菌群落结构及功能研究

通过研究陕西省宝鸡市千渭之会国家湿地公园不同植被类型的底泥中真菌群落结构、多样性及功能差异,为千渭之会国家湿地公园水生植物的优化选择提供依据。以芦苇、香蒲、白茅、水葱、荷花等典型湿地植物底泥样本为研究对象,采用高通量测序技术对底泥样本DNA的ITS1片段进行基因测序,获取底泥中真菌群落结构组成并预测其功能信息,测定样本理化性质及酶活性。结果表明,测序共获得11 778个OTUs(Operational Taxonomic Units),划分为34个门、58个纲、134个目、244个科、599个属;真菌群落以子囊菌门(Ascomycota)和担子菌门(Basidiomycota)为主;芦苇底泥样品的真菌多样性最低;子囊菌门的相对丰度与蔗糖酶、磷酸酶活性呈显著正相关(P<0.05),担子菌门的相对丰度与总碳、总有机碳含量以及蔗糖酶活性呈显著正相关(P<0.05);底泥真菌群落主要包括3类营养型和6类互有交叉营养型功能菌群。探讨了湿地中不同植物群落的底泥中真菌群落结构、多样性以及潜在功能的差异,分析相关理化性质的影响,以期为筛选人工湿地植物、有效利用湿地资源和生态修复提供参考。     

Chromosome evolution in the owl monkey,Aotus

We have reported nine distinct karyotypes for Aotus, of four pelagic phenotypes, and suggest that this single species has undergone extensive subspeciation. We reconstruct the mechanism of chromosomal evolution and propose a hypothesis about the events of subspeciation in Aotus. We speculate that isolated groups of ancestral individuals living in several confined areas have separately accumulated a fusion or inversion pair as a result of inbreeding. A subsequent reassociation of descendants from these individuals led to the formation of offspring with mixtures of fusion or inversion pairs in their complements. They, in turn, radiated into different ecological niches accompanied by adaptive genetic changes and eventually gave rise to the present forms of Aotus distinguishable by their karyotypes, but not easily recognizable by ordinary taxonomic criteria.     

Down-regulation of RBP4 indicates a poor prognosis and correlates with immune cell infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma

Recent research has indicated that metabolically related genes play crucial roles in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We evaluated the associations between novel biomarkers and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) for predicting clinical HCC outcomes, hub-related genes, pathway regulation, and immune cells infiltration. Bioinformatic analyses based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were performed using online analysis tools. RBP4 expression was low in HCC and was also down-regulated in pan-cancers compared with normal tissues. RBP4 expression was also significantly different based on age (41–60 years old versus 61–80 years old), and low RBP4 expression levels were associated with advanced tumor stages and grades. Higher RBP4 expression was associated with better overall survival time in HCC patients, and we identified a deletion-mutation rate of 1.4% in RBP4. We also identified ten co-expressed genes most related to RBP4 and explored the relationships between six hub genes (APOB, FGA, FGG, SERPINC1, APOA1, and F2) involved in RBP4 regulation. A pathway enrichment analysis for RBP4 indicated complement and coagulation cascades, metabolic pathways, antibiotic biosynthesis pathways, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling pathways, and pyruvate metabolism pathways. These results suggest that RBP4 may be a novel biomarker for HCC prognosis, and an indicator of low immune response to the disease.     

基于多尺度标记优化分水岭方法的油茶冠幅提取

针对尺度对地物空间结构的限制以及传统分水岭分割易产生树冠过分割等问题,选择长沙县明月村油茶基地为研究区,提出一种基于多尺度标记优化分水岭分割油茶树冠的方法。首先使用高分辨率无人机影像采集图像,分析影像特征,构建油茶分类体系,提取油茶林分布区域。其次,运用多尺度区域迭代增长方法提取树冠标记,将标记应用于多阈值尺度的分水岭变换,并结合Johnson指数选取树冠标记增长和分水岭阈值的最优尺度,实现油茶单木的准确识别。结果表明:多尺度标记优化分水岭方法在分离油茶单木时,树冠面积提取值与目视解译参考值的相对误差为9.4%;单木总体识别精度为89.4%,相对于传统的分水岭分割方法精度提高了34.8%;通过Johnson指数确定的最优迭代增长尺度为20,分水岭分割阈值尺度为85,对比不同尺度组合下的油茶冠幅提取结果,最优尺度下的油茶冠幅提取精度最高(R²=0.75)。多尺度标记优化分水岭方法能较准确地分离油茶树冠,将该方法应用于无人机影像树冠分割,可有效提高经济林调查的效率。     

Mycobacterium leprae-Infected Macrophages Preferentially Primed Regulatory T Cell Responses and Was Associated with Lepromatous Leprosy

Background

The persistence of Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) infection is largely dependent on the types of host immune responses being induced. Macrophage, a crucial modulator of innate and adaptive immune responses, could be directly infected by M. leprae. We therefore postulated that M. leprae-infected macrophages might have altered immune functions.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Here, we treated monocyte-derived macrophages with live or killed M. leprae, and examined their activation status and antigen presentation. We found that macrophages treated with live M. leprae showed committed M2-like function, with decreased interleukin 1 beta (IL-1beta), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and MHC class II molecule expression and elevated IL-10 and CD163 expression. When incubating with naive T cells, macrophages treated with live M. leprae preferentially primed regulatory T (Treg) cell responses with elevated FoxP3 and IL-10 expression, while interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) expression and CD8⁺ T cell cytotoxicity were reduced. Chromium release assay also found that live M. leprae-treated macrophages were more resistant to CD8⁺ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity than sonicated M. leprae-treated monocytes. Ex vivo studies showed that the phenotype and function of monocytes and macrophages had clear differences between L-lep and T-lep patients, consistent with the in vitro findings.

Conclusions/Significance

Together, our data demonstrate that M. leprae could utilize infected macrophages by two mechanisms: firstly, M. leprae-infected macrophages preferentially primed Treg but not Th1 or cytotoxic T cell responses; secondly, M. leprae-infected macrophages were more effective at evading CD8⁺ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity.     

燃煤污染型氟中毒患者氟暴露、骨相损伤程度与骨形成标志物的关系

慢性氟暴露是世界范围内的公共卫生问题之一.为研究燃煤污染型氟中毒患者中氟暴露、骨相损伤程度与骨形成标志物血清碱性磷酸酶(ALP)、骨钙素(BGP)之间的相关关系,以贵州省织金县荷花村(燃煤污染型地方性氟中毒病区)和安顺市张官村(非氟暴露村)为调查点,采集环境样品,采用氟离子选择电极法测定环境介质及食物中的氟含量.在知情同意的原则下,对295例氟暴露和85例非氟暴露调查对象进行氟斑牙、氟骨症诊断;收集其尿液及外周血,测定尿氟(UF)浓度、ALP活性和BGP含量.结果表明: 病区环境中大米、辣椒、玉米、饮水、黏土、菜土、煤以及室内外空气氟含量均明显高于对照区,但较以往报道数据降低;随着尿氟浓度的升高,ALP活性、BGP含量显著升高,氟骨症病情差异有统计学意义,氟斑牙病情差异无统计学意义;氟骨症病情与ALP活性、BGP含量呈正相关.表明燃煤污染型低氟暴露可引起人群的骨相损害,且ALP、BGP可用于评估氟骨症患者骨转换情况,在氟骨症的辅助诊断、疗效评估中有着一定的应用价值.