家燕营巢特征及其对城市环境的适应性

城市面积在全球范围内迅速扩张,一些鸟类种群通过改变营巢特征,在与自然生境截然不同的城市中筑巢繁殖。但目前城市环境对于鸟类营巢影响的研究较缺乏。为了解鸟类营巢对城市环境的适应,于2016、2019年在黑龙江哈尔滨的城市与乡村环境,分别测量家燕（Hirundo rustica）巢（如,大小及形状）及巢址特征等（如,距地面和屋顶距离）参数,以探究：（1）家燕巢特征在乡村及城市生境是否存在差异？（2）家燕巢特征在年际间是否存在变化？并为城市家燕种群的保护提供理论依据及合理建议。研究采用Kruskal-Wallis秩和检验以及Wilcoxon秩和检验比较分析所测量的巢特征参数在城乡之间、年际间的差异,并对组间参数进行线性判别分析（LDA,Linear Discriminant Analysis）。结果发现,城乡间具有显著差异：（1）与乡村相比,城市巢距离屋顶更远,距地相对更近（P<0.05）;（2）城市巢更浅（P<0.05）;（3）从2016到2019年,城市和乡村巢都变得更深,半径更大（P<0.05）。根据这些发现,推测城市楼房建筑的楼道为家燕繁殖提供了相对更为封闭、安全的环境,旧巢及较为丰富的支撑物为家燕提供了适宜的巢址,有可能节省亲鸟在营巢上的繁殖投入;但同时应当警惕门窗关闭、资源受限、人为干扰等不利因素可能造成的生态陷阱。     

一种基于流式细胞术的牛多细胞因子检测方法

本研究旨在建立一种基于流式细胞术的牛多细胞因子检测方法。对前期制备并筛选出的针对牛细胞因子IFN-γ、IL-2、TNF-α、IP-10和MCP-1的单克隆抗体进行荧光标记,与细胞表面分子抗体组合搭配,进行牛多细胞因子流式检测方法的建立和优化。随后利用建立的方法进行BCG体外感染牛外周血单个核细胞的细胞因子表达规律测定,并结合CFP10-ESAT6蛋白刺激剂评价上述细胞因子作为牛结核诊断标识的潜力。建立的牛多细胞因子流式检测方法可以有效测定BCG感染牛外周血T淋巴细胞的细胞因子表达,其中IFN-γ、IL-2、TNF-α在感染40h后持续上升,而IP-10和MCP-1表达水平呈现下降趋势;对于牛外周血CD4⁺T淋巴细胞IFN-γ、IL-2、TNF-α的联合检测能有效区分牛结核阳性和阴性样品。这一方法为牛病原菌感染、疫苗注射后细胞免疫应答水平评价以及疫病诊断提供了重要技术手段。     

Coherent modeling of longitudinal causal effects on binary outcomes

Analyses of biomedical studies often necessitate modeling longitudinal causal effects. The current focus on personalized medicine and effect heterogeneity makes this task even more challenging. Toward this end, structural nested mean models (SNMMs) are fundamental tools for studying heterogeneous treatment effects in longitudinal studies. However, when outcomes are binary, current methods for estimating multiplicative and additive SNMM parameters suffer from variation dependence between the causal parameters and the noncausal nuisance parameters. This leads to a series of difficulties in interpretation, estimation, and computation. These difficulties have hindered the uptake of SNMMs in biomedical practice, where binary outcomes are very common. We solve the variation dependence problem for the binary multiplicative SNMM via a reparameterization of the noncausal nuisance parameters. Our novel nuisance parameters are variation independent of the causal parameters, and hence allow for coherent modeling of heterogeneous effects from longitudinal studies with binary outcomes. Our parameterization also provides a key building block for flexible doubly robust estimation of the causal parameters. Along the way, we prove that an additive SNMM with binary outcomes does not admit a variation independent parameterization, thereby justifying the restriction to multiplicative SNMMs.     

Subcellular Distribution and Chemical Forms of Cadmium in the Medicine Food Homology Plant <i>Platycodon grandiflorum</i> (Jacq.) A.DC.

Although Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A.DC. is a renowned medicine food homology plant, reports of excessive cadmium (Cd) levels are common, which affects its safety for clinical use and food consumption. To enable its Cd levels to be regulated or reduced, it is necessary to first elucidate the mechanism of Cd uptake and accumulation in the plant, in addition to its detoxification mechanisms. This present study used inductively couple plasma-mass-spectrometry to analyze the subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Cd in different tissues of P. grandiflorum. The experimental results showed that Cd was mainly accumulated in the roots [predominantly in the cell wall (50.96%–61.42%)], and it was found primarily in hypomobile and hypotoxic forms. The proportion of Cd in the soluble fraction increased after Cd exposure, and the proportion of insoluble phosphate Cd and oxalate Cd increased in roots and leaves, with a higher increase in oxalate Cd. Therefore, it is likely that root retention mechanisms, cell wall deposition, vacuole sequestration, and the formation of low mobility and low toxicity forms are tolerance strategies for Cd detoxification used by P. grandiflorum. The results of this study provide a theoretical grounding for the study of Cd accumulation and detoxification mechanisms in P. grandiflorum, and they can be used as a reference for developing Cd limits and standards for other medicine food homology plants.     

A Meaningful Attempt: Applying Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma to Induce Polarization of Macrophages

Macrophage polarization plays an important role in many macrophage-related diseases. This study was designed to preliminarily explore the effects of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma on the polarization direction and cell activity of macrophages with different phenotypes (ie, M0, M1, and M2). The M1 macrophage marker inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and M2 macrophage marker cluster of differentiation 206 (CD206) were detected by western blot (WB). The effects of DBD plasma on macrophage viability were analyzed by using a cell counting kit-8 detection kit. M0, M1, and M2 macrophages exhibited a decrease in iNOS expression and an increase in CD206 expression after the DBD plasma intervention. Additionally, the decrease in macrophage viability remained non-significant after initiating the intervention. DBD plasma can promote the transformation of M0 and M1 macrophages to M2 macrophages, and can further enhance the expression of the M2 macrophage phenotype marker CD206. Our study not only demonstrates the potential therapeutic value of DBD plasma for macrophage-related diseases, but it also provides a new direction for research to improve the treatment of macrophage-related diseases. © 2023 Bioelectromagnetics Society.     

广西防城港黑翅长脚鹬的繁殖行为

本研究于2021年3～9月,采用目标观察和全事件记录法,对广西防城港市钦州湾八路水湿地黑翅长脚鹬（Himantopus himantopus）的繁殖习性进行全过程观察记录。黑翅长脚鹬的栖息生境主要在盐田、虾塘和鱼塘,而巢主要分布在盐田生境。共发现39巢,雌雄共同营巢,按照主要巢材将其巢分为干草巢、碎石巢、泥皮巢和牛毛毡草巢4种;巢材包括禾本科（Gramineae）和莎草科（Cyperaceae）植物以及碎石、贝壳等;巢外径为（23.3±10.7）cm,巢内径为（11.2±1.9）cm,巢深为（1.6±0.5）cm,巢高为（6.5±4.3）cm(n=39);筑巢需（3±2）d(n=6)。窝卵数2～4枚,1～2 d产1枚卵,7 d内产完满窝卵（n=6）。雌雄均参与孵卵,雄性孵卵时间比雌性长,但二者差异不显著（P> 0.05）,雄性（8 550±245.9）min,雌性（7 530±263.3）min,孵卵期为（25±2）d(n=6)。育雏期（26±3）d(n=6),雌雄轮流育雏,育雏前、中期（雏鸟1～20d日龄）,雌性育雏时间比雄性长,是雄性的2倍,育雏后期（雏鸟大于20 d日龄）,...     

幼虫密度对桑螟生长发育和繁殖的影响

【目的】本研究旨在了解桑螟Diaphania pyloalis幼虫不同饲养密度对其生长发育和繁殖的影响。【方法】本研究测定了室内同一条件下5个幼虫密度(130, 650, 1 300, 1 950和2 600头/m²)下桑螟生长发育和繁殖指标,包括发育历期、幼虫存活率、化蛹率、成虫羽化率、蛹重、产卵期、单雌产卵量等。【结果】幼虫密度对桑螟的生长发育和繁殖均产生不同程度影响,幼虫密度偏低或偏高都不利于桑螟生长发育和繁殖。其中以1 300和1 950头/m² 2种幼虫密度下的桑螟幼虫生长发育和成虫繁殖状态均最佳且两密度下各项指标无明显差异,1 300头/m²密度下,桑螟的幼虫历期、蛹历期和成虫历期分别为11.32, 6.33和5.31 d; 1 950头/m²密度下,桑螟的幼虫历期、蛹历期和成虫历期分别为11.50, 6.00和5.47 d。1 300头/m²幼虫密度下,桑螟化蛹率、成虫羽化率和幼虫存活率分别为86.67%, 100%和86.67%, 1 950头/m^2<...     

Thioredoxin 1 overexpression attenuated diabetes-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress in Müller cells via apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1

As one of the common and serious chronic complications of diabetes mellitus (DM), the related mechanism of diabetic retinopathy (DR) has not been fully understood. Müller cell reactive gliosis is one of the early pathophysiological features of DR. Therefore, exploring the manner to reduce diabetes-induced Müller cell damage is essential to delay DR. Thioredoxin 1 (Trx1), one of the ubiquitous redox enzymes, plays a vital role in redox homeostasis via protein–protein interactions, including apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1). Previous studies have shown that upregulation of Trx by some drugs can attenuate endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in DR, but the related mechanism was unclear. In this study, we used DM mouse and high glucose (HG)-cultured human Müller cells as models to clarify the effect of Trx1 on ERS and the underlying mechanism. The data showed that the diabetes-induced Müller cell damage was increased significantly. Moreover, the expression of ERS and reactive gliosis was also upregulated in diabetes in vivo and in vitro. However, it was reversed after Trx1 overexpression. Besides, ERS-related protein expression, reactive gliosis, and apoptosis were decreased after transfection with ASK1 small-interfering RNA in stable Trx1 overexpression Müller cells after HG treatment. Taken together, Trx1 could protect Müller cells from diabetes-induced damage, and the underlying mechanism was related to inhibited ERS via ASK1.     

甜菊叶愈伤组织诱导过程中叶绿体的超微结构变化

观察了甜菊(Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni)叶外植体愈伤组织诱导过程中叶绿体的超微结构变化。结果表明,当叶外植体转移到培养基上培养后,叶绿体的片层结构逐渐退化。在叶绿体发生退化的过程中伴有叶绿体出芽和原质体的形成。推测新产生的原质体来自叶绿体产生的芽状体。而叶绿体本身最后完全解体消失。叶绿体超微结构的这种变化与高度液泡化的叶肉细胞脱分化至分生状态是平行的。随着培养的进行,分生状态的细胞发生液泡化变为薄壁细胞时,在愈伤组织表层的细胞中,质体重新形成片层结构,而内部细胞的质体则充满淀粉粒。     

(Zn·Cd)S:Ag-KI催化的光合磷酸化

以半导体材料(Zn·Cd)S:Ag-KI为催化剂,在普通卤钨灯光照射下,成功地模拟了光合作用的光合磷酸化.文章报导了光强、照光时间、ADP浓度、Pi浓度及催化剂量等对ATP合成的影响.在合适的条件下,ADP浓度为1×10~(-3)mmolL时转化率可达到4-6°.最后有一简单讨论.