Diurnal changes in psychophysiological variables of school girls: comparison with regard to age and teacher's appreciation of learning.

Ninety-five nonresident girls of a private school volunteered for the study with the teachers' help as well as parental consent. Ages were approximately 8, 9, and 10 years. They were synchronized with diurnal activity from 0730 to 2100 h and nocturnal rest. Fatigue, drowsiness, and attention were self-rated using visual analogue scales; oral temperature was self-measured and a letter cancellation test was performed. Each of these variables was measured at school at 0900, 1100, 1400, and 1600 h on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays for two consecutive weeks in 1987 (March 30-April 11) and again in 1989 (March 13-25) when the youngest group had become 10 years old. According to conventional teacher evaluation of learning (learning performance) within each group, three subgroups were formed: top third, middle third, and bottom third. Time series (more than 50,000 data) were analyzed according to several statistical methods, but mainly chronograms with ANOVA. Similar diurnal changes in oral temperature were validated for each group and subgroups. The occurrence of a diurnal change in self-rated variables (fatigue and drowsiness) and score in letter cancellation was age related: no detection in the 8-year-old group (and subgroups) and validation (p less than 0.002) in 9- and 10-year-old groups (and respective subgroups). A good learning performance was associated with a reduced drowsiness in school girls of 9 and 10 years. Age-related, time-of-day differences in drowsiness (when detected) as well as learning performance effect were not associated with observed duration of sleep. Validated changes in self-rated fatigue were close to that of drowsiness. At 0900 h, girls of 9 and 10 years were more tired when belonging to the bottom third than top third subgroup. Whatever the time of day, self-rated attention was greater in the top than in the bottom third for these girls. Differences related to learning performance were validated in each grade. However, best scores were recorded for the bottom third in the 8-year-old group, while best scores were provided by top third subgroups in 10-year-old girls. It seems that in girls around 8 years of age, critical changes can be detected with regard to the (ontogenic?) occurrence of time-of-day differences in a set of psychophysiologic variables as well as influential effects of learning performance on the same variables. Reported finding are compatible with the hypothesis of circadian oscillators working at the level of the cortex of the human brain.     

Application of nuclear magnetic resonance for the determination of the structure of proteins in solution

Knowledge of three-dimensional structure is a key factor in protein engineering. It is useful, for example, in predicting and understanding the functional consequences of specific substitution of one or more amino acids of the polypeptide chain. It is also necessary for the design of new effectors or analogs of the substrates of enzymes and receptors. X-ray diffraction by crystals of the biomolecule was for a long time the only method of determining three-dimensional structures. In the last 5 years, it has been joined by a new technique, two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR), which can resolve the structure of middle-sized proteins (less than 10 kilodaltons). The technique is applied on solutions whose pH, ionic strength, and temperature can be chosen and changed. The two basic measurements, COSY and NOESY, detect respectively the systems of hydrogen nuclei, or protons, coupled through covalent bonds, and those in which the interproton distances are less than 0.5 nm. A systematic strategy leads from resonance assignments of the two-dimensional spectrum to molecular modeling with constraints and finally to the determination of the molecular structure in the solution. Much sophistication is needed even today for the first task, the assignment of the resonances. Each of the COSY and NOESY spectra is a two-dimensional map, where the diagonal line is the one-dimensional spectrum, and the off-diagonal peaks indicate connectives between protons. Peak assignment to a specific type of amino acid is based on the pattern of scalar couplings observed in the COSY spectrum. Next, the amino acids are positioned in the primary sequence, using the spatial proximities of polypeptide chain protons, as observed in the NOESY spectrum. The principal secondary structures (alpha helix, beta sheets, etc.) are then identified by their specific connectivities. The tertiary structure is detected by NOESY connectivities between protons of different amino acids which are far apart in the primary sequence. The distance constraints from the NOESY connectivities also provide the starting point for modeling the tertiary structure. This is then refined using distance geometry and molecular dynamics algorithms. The resolution of the structures obtained with the help of recent algorithmic developments may be comparable to that provided by X-ray diffraction. The COSY measurement can be completed or substituted by other measurements, useful albeit more complex. For example, the HOHAHA experiment, currently in wide use, gives the correlations through multiple covalent bonds. Multiquanta experiments, which select systems of a given number of coupled spins, provide spectral simplification.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Tg (9 HSA-MYC), a homozygous lethal insertion in the mouse

Transgenic mice generated with different DNA sequences were surveyed for possible homozygous mutant phenotypes. We found an embryonic lethal mutation in the transgenic mouse strain (MT-MYC12.4) containing the human c-myc gene. Embryos homozygous for the transgene die shortly after implantation. The strain MT-MYC12.4 carries approximately 50 tandem copies of the recombinant plasmid sequence. The 3 flanking sequence has been cloned and analyzed. It contains a unique sequence that has been conserved during evolution and maps to Chromosome (Chr) 9. This mutant has been designated Tg 9 (HSA-MYC).     

华东地区黑果蝇自然群体同工酶遗传多态的研究

我们用标准垂直板聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳和水平板琼脂糖凝胶电泳技术检测了黑果蝇(D.virilis)在合肥、芜湖、九江、南昌、福州、泉州和常州7个自然群体中Est-α、Est-β、Amy、Acph和α-Gpdh 5个座位的遗传变异,发现Est-α、Est-β和Amy 3个座位是高度多态的,Acph、α-Gpdh两个座位则是单态的。根据这5个座位等位基因的频率,我们计算了群体间的遗传距离。综合何朝珍报道的宁波、杭州、南京和洪泽4个群体的结果和我们的结果,我们作出系统树并发现泉州、福州两群体和其他群体在基因频率的分布和遗传距离方面有显著差异;分析显示这种差异与群体间地理隔离有关。     

不同发育时期中华绒螯蟹血淋巴渗透压的分析

中华绒螯蟹血淋巴渗透压随不同的生长阶段而异;不论是在淡水中,还是在不同盐浓度的海水中,都具有保持血淋巴高渗调节控制的能力。青春期前,6—9月份,血淋巴渗透压自390mOsm/Kg H_2O升至560mOsm/Kg H_2O;青春期后,9—12月份,自555mOsm/Kg H_2O升至656mOsm/Kg H_2O,但12月到翌年3月份却明显下降。雌蟹从淡水移入海水后的血淋巴渗透压调升速度,青春期后是青春期前的三倍左右。     

Première biozonation du Pléistocène Européen,principal résultat biostratigraphique de l'étude des Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia,Perissodactyla) du Miocène terminal au Pléistocène supérieur d'Europe Occidentale

For the Uppermost Miocene the already known zones MN 9 to MN 13 are used without any change; they prove to be particularly useful for the study of fossil rhinocerotids. The Plio-Villafranchian age corresponds to the zones 14 to 19, the definition of the first five being completed and the last being new. Middle to Upper Pleistocene age deals with the zones 20 to 26, all being new and defined following the same principles.     

Gut microbiome in gastrointestinal cancer: a friend or foe?

The impact of the gut microbiome on host health is becoming increasingly recognized. To date, there is growing evidence that the complex characteristics of the microbial community play key roles as potential biomarkers and predictors of responses in cancer therapy. Many studies have shown that altered commensal bacteria lead to cancer susceptibility and progression in diverse pathways. In this review, we critically assess the data for gut microbiota related to gastrointestinal cancer, including esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. Importantly, the underlying mechanisms of gut microbiota involved in cancer occurrence, prevention and treatment are elucidated. The purpose of this review is to provide novel insights for applying this understanding to the development of new therapeutic strategies in gastrointestinal cancer by targeting the microbial community.     

不同生态型摩西球囊霉菌株对棉花耐盐性的影响

在盆栽条件下研究了4个NaCl水平下(0、1、2和3g／kg)接种丛枝菌根真菌Glomus mosseae的2个菌株M1和M2对棉花耐盐性的影响。M1自非盐渍土壤分离,M2自盐渍土壤分离。结果表明,不同盐水平下2个菌株对棉花根系的侵染率为20％～40％,M2的侵染率高于M1;这两个菌株对棉花在盐胁迫环境下的生长状况都有一定的促进,其中Ml的促进作用明显大于M2的,并且在NaCl水平为2和3g／kg时,两菌株对棉花生长的效应之间的差异达到极显著水平。进一步的分析表明两菌株对植株吸收矿质元素的作用方面存在一定差异。接种M1的植株含磷量在4个盐水平下均显著高于对照,而接种M2处理的植株含磷量只是在0和1g／kg NaCl时显著高于对照。在2和3g／kg NaCl时略低于对照,并显著低于接种M1处理的。在4个NaCl水平下,接种M1的植株钠和氯含量与对照没有显著差异;接种M2的植株氯含量在1～3g／kg 3个NaCl水平下、钠含量在2和3g／kg 2个NaCl水平下不仅显著高于对照,同时也显著高于接种M1的植株氯和钠含量。这些差异是M1和M2两菌株对提高棉花耐盐性作用大小不同的主要原因。上述结果说明不同生态型AM真菌菌株对植物的耐盐性的影响力不同,这与真菌自身的生物学特性有关。     

植物光信号途径重要新调控因子TZP的研究进展

TZP(TANDEM ZINC-FINGER/PLUS3)是近年来鉴定到的一个光信号转导途径新组分,在光介导的植物生长发育过程中发挥重要调控作用。TZP不仅负调控蓝光信号途径,参与光敏色素B(phyB)介导的开花调控过程,还参与调控phyA在体内的蛋白质磷酸化。对TZP生化活性和作用机制的深入研究,不仅有助于进一步完善光信号调控网络,也可为设计和培育具有耐密理想株型及高光效作物新品种提供理论依据。该文系统总结了TZP在植物光信号途径中发挥的重要调控作用,并提出未来TZP功能研究的重要问题。