Prevalence of Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment in China: A Community-Based,Cross-Sectional Study

International hospital-based studies have indicated a high risk of cognitive impairment after stroke, evidence from community-based studies in China is scarce. To determine the prevalence of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) and its subtypes in stroke survivors residing in selected rural and urban Chinese communities, we conducted a community-based, cross-sectional study in 599 patients accounting for 48% of all stroke survivors registered in the 4 communities, who had suffered confirmed strokes and had undergone cognitive assessments via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Hachinski Ischemia Scale (HIS). Detection of PSCI was based on scores in these neuropsychological scales. Factors potentially impacting on occurrence of PSCI were explored by comparing demographic characteristics, stroke features, and cardiovascular risk factors between patients with and without PSCI. The overall prevalence of PSCI was 80.97% (95%CI: 77.82%-84.11%), while that of non-dementia PSCI (PSCI-ND) and post-stroke vascular dementia (PSD) was 48.91% (95%CI: 44.91%-52.92%) and 32.05% (95%CI: 28.32%-35.79%), respectively. Prior stroke and complications during the acute phase were independent risk factors for PSCI. The risk of recurrent stroke survivors having PSCI was 2.7 times higher than for first-episode survivors, and it was 3 times higher for those with complications during the acute phase than for those without. The higher prevalence of PSCI in this study compared with previous Chinese studies was possibly due to the combined effects of including rural stroke survivors, a longer period from stroke onset, and different assessment methods. There is an urgent need to recognize and prevent PSCI in stroke patients, especially those with recurrent stroke and complications during the acute phase.     

Ontogeny of head and caudal fin shape of an apex marine predator: The tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier)

How morphology changes with size can have profound effects on the life history and ecology of an animal. For apex predators that can impact higher level ecosystem processes, such changes may have consequences for other species. Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) are an apex predator in tropical seas, and, as adults, are highly migratory. However, little is known about ontogenetic changes in their body form, especially in relation to two aspects of shape that influence locomotion (caudal fin) and feeding (head shape). We captured digital images of the heads and caudal fins of live tiger sharks from Southern Florida and the Bahamas ranging in body size (hence age), and quantified shape of each using elliptical Fourier analysis. This revealed changes in the shape of the head and caudal fin of tiger sharks across ontogeny. Smaller juvenile tiger sharks show an asymmetrical tail with the dorsal (upper) lobe being substantially larger than the ventral (lower) lobe, and transition to more symmetrical tail in larger adults, although the upper lobe remains relatively larger in adults. The heads of juvenile tiger sharks are more conical, which transition to relatively broader heads over ontogeny. We interpret these changes as a result of two ecological transitions. First, adult tiger sharks can undertake extensive migrations and a more symmetrical tail could be more efficient for swimming longer distances, although we did not test this possibility. Second, adult tiger sharks expand their diet to consume larger and more diverse prey with age (turtles, mammals, and elasmobranchs), which requires substantially greater bite area and force to process. In contrast, juvenile tiger sharks consume smaller prey, such as fishes, crustaceans, and invertebrates. Our data reveal significant morphological shifts in an apex predator, which could have effects for other species that tiger sharks consume and interact with. J. Morphol. 277:556–564, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Ecotoxicity of soils contaminated with industrial and domestic wastewater in western shenyang,China

Soil samples were collected from 7 sites in the up-, mid-and down-reach along and nearby the wastewater irrigation channel, western Shenyang of China. The concentrations of selected pollutants (mineral oil, PAHs - polycycle aromatic hydrocarbons and Cd) were determined by UV spectrometer, HPLC and AAS (atomic adsorption spectrometer) spectrometer, respectively. Toxicity effects of soils were evaluated by seedling emergence test with root length of wheat as the end-point and by earthworms test with the mortality rate and inhibition rates of body weight as endpoints. Results showed accumulation of pollutants for most soils with concentration of 200.2 mg.kg⁻¹∼1600 mg.kg⁻¹ for mineral oil, 0.33 mg.kg⁻¹∼1.81 mg.kg⁻¹ for Cd and 900.16 mg.kg⁻¹ ∼ 2737.91 mg.kg⁻¹ for PAHs. The inhibition rates of root elongation were from −20% up to 40 %, and mortality rates of earthworms ranged from 0%∼40% from the exposure period of two weeks to eight weeks by sampling interval of two weeks, the inhibition rates of earthworm growth were from −19.36% to 34.53%, showing effects of stimulation at 2 weeks to an increasing effects of inhibition at 4, 6 and 8 weeks, respectively. Mortality rates correlated with the loss of body weight of earthworms.

This study indicated the potential risk of pollutants of environmental low content in soil by the determination of selected chemicals combined with toxicity indexes.

     

Cleavage of territrems by alkaline hydrogen peroxide: Isolation and characterization of the aromatic moiety of territrems

The chemical reaction of cleavaging territrem B to give 3,4,5-trimethoxy benzoic acid by alkaline hydrogen peroxide was investigated. The method was applied for confirmation of the chemical structure of the aromatic moiety of territrem A, A’, B, and B’. The physicochemical properties of the aromatic cleavage product of territrem Aindicated the structure as 3,4-methylendioxy, 5-methoxy benzoic acid (or 4-methoxy, 6-carboxy, 1, 3-benzodioxole). The experiment also gave the evidences that territrem A and A’, on the other hand territrem B and B’ have the identical aromatic moieties on their structures.     

Light-adaptation in the photophobic response by Stentor coeruleus

Effects of preillumination on photophobic response (light-adaptation) and recovery of the photophobic sensitivity in the dark (dark-adaptation) in Stentor coeruleus were examined. When the cells were preilluminated with white light of 7.80 W/m² for 2 min, the fluence-rate response curve of photophobic response was shifted toward higher light intensities by half an order of magnitude compared to the one without preillumination. Preillumination with a higher light intensity resulted in a further shift of the fluencerate response curve. An action spectrum for light-adaptation showed a primary peak at 610 nm and secondary peaks at 540 and 480 nm which are almost identical to the peaks observed in the photophobic action spectrum.The light-adapted cells showed a recovery of their photophobic sensing ability following dark treatment. Dark-adaptation resulted in total recovery of photophobic sensing ability in 8 minutes for the most cases examined.     

Chromosomal location, cloning and nucleotide sequence of the Bacillus subtilis cdd gene encoding cytidine/deoxycytidine deaminase

Summary The Bacillus subtilis cdd gene encoding cytidine/2-deoxycytidine deaminase has been located by transduction at approximately 225 degrees on the chromosome, and the gene order rpC-lys-cdd-aroD was established. The gene was isolated from a library of B. subtilis DNA cloned in D69 by complementation of an Escherichia coli cdd mutation. Minicell experiments revealed a molecular mass of 14000 dalton for the cytidine deaminase subunit encoded by the cloned DNA fragment. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was determined to be 58000, suggesting that it consists of four identical subunits. The nucleotide sequence of 1170 bp, including the cdd gene, was determined. An open reading frame encoding a polypeptide with a calculated molecular mass of 14800 dalton was deduced to be the coding region for cdd. The deduced amino acid composition of the 136-amino acid-long subunit shows that it contains six cysteine residues. A computer search in the GenBank DNA sequence library revealed that the 476 bp HindIII fragment containing the putative promoter region and the first ten codons of cdd is identical to the P43 promoter-containing fragment previously isolated by Wang and Doi (1984). They showed that the fragment contained overlapping promoters transcribed by B. subtilis 43 and 37 RNA polymerase holoenzymes during growth and stationary phase.Abbreviations SDS sodium dodecyl sulphate - Ap ampicillin resistance - Tet^r tetracycline resistance - Km^r kanamycin resistance     

The association of H-2Ld with human beta-2 microglobulin induces localized conformational changes in the alpha-1 and- 2 superdomain

We have analyzed changes in the antigenicity of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules resulting from the association of human beta-2 micro-globulin (B2m) with the mouse class I heavy chain. In particular, the H-2L^d molecule exhibited enhanced crossreactivity for the 34-1-2 monoclonal antibody. In order to assess the nature of this structural alteration induced by human B2m, we utilized H-2 class I hybrid molecules in the mapping of the 34-1-2 determinant to the helical region of the alpha-1 domain. H-2L^d class I hybrid molecules were then used to establish the importance of the alpha-2 and- 3 domains in the observed increase of 34-1-2 cross-reactivity following exchange with human B2m. The H-2L^d hybrids suggest that alterations in interdomain contact are responsible for enhanced 34-1-2 cross-reactivity on the H-2L^d molecule. It is likely that this alteration arises through changes in class I conformation at regions of the molecule distant from points of contact between B2m and the class I molecule. This suggests that perturbations induced by association of human B2m with H-2L^d can affect the conformation of the alpha-1 and- 2 superdomain. That class I antigenic determinants are altered by the association of human B2m with mouse class I further suggests that the class I molecule is structurally flexible and may reflect the ability of the class I molecule to bind and present a vast array of disparate peptides to the T-cell receptor.     

白洋淀和太湖地区鸟类绦虫区系的比较研究

本文对白洋淀和太湖地区鸟类绦虫区系进行了比较研究,并对太湖鸟类绦虫区系作了初步分析。结果表明,鸟类绦虫区系分布与宿主区系分布密切相关,亲缘关系相近的宿主有许多相同的或亲缘相近的绦虫,这种现象为研究宿主与寄生虫的演化提供了可靠途径;发现鸟的越冬地绦虫种类比迁徙地种类丰富,分析其原因,除温、湿度、中间宿主等生态条件之外,与鸟的迁徙有一定关系。太湖地区的绦虫具有北方型和随遇型,亦有世界性种类和东半球广布种,提出了两地区家禽和野生鸟类所寄生的共同种类的绦虫。