Is food resource partitioning responsible for deviation of echolocation call frequencies from allometry in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhinolophus macrotis</Emphasis>?

There is an apparent allometric relationship between peak frequency of echolocation and body size in rhinophilids. However, some rhinolophids deviate from this rule. To date this variation has been explained as a result of partitioning of communication channels. An alternative hypothesis that food resource partitioning results in this divergence in expected frequencies was tested by comparing prey selection between Rhinolophus macrotis Blyth, 1844 and Rhinolophus lepidus Blyth, 1844 in Yunnan Province, China. These two sympatric species are morphologically similar but acoustically divergent: R. macrotis has an echolocation frequency significantly lower than that predicted by the allometric relationship, whereas that of R. lepidus agreed with expectations. Prey selection experiments, conducted in a flight tent, indicated that the dominant prey taxa of R. macrotis were Lasiocampidae, Arctiidae and Noctuidae, whilst that of R. lepidus were Arctiidae, Noctuidae and Ichneumonidae. R. macrotis ate more earless moths and fewer eared moths than R. lepidus, and R. macrotis fed on larger prey in general and captured a wider size range than that captured by R. lepidus. These results confirmed the existence of finely tuned trophic niche differentiation and suggested that food resource partitioning is one of the factors leading to lower peak frequency of calls in R. macrotis.     

中枢神经细胞的高尔基复合体ACP活性分布的电镜观察

本文采用电镜金属盐法—酸性磷酸酶(ACP)细胞化学技术,用30mmol/L pipes缓冲液配制低浓度戊二醛进行固定。对成年大鼠的大脑大锥体细胞,小脑浦肯野氏细胞,脊髓前角运动细胞的高尔基复合体的ACP活性进行了实验研究和探讨。结果发现ACP活性分布在高尔基复合体的部份转移泡、浓缩泡及GERL部位。高尔基复合体呈ACP阳性反应,并显示出多种形态。     

碱性成纤维细胞生长因子对牙周膜细胞内核心蛋白多糖基因表达的影响

利用外源性碱性成纤维细胞生长因子(Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor,bFGF)刺激体外培养的人正常牙周膜细胞.采用逆转录-聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)检测细胞内decorin的基因表达的变化,研究bFGF对体外培养的人牙周膜细胞内核心蛋白多糖(decorin)的作用,进一步探讨bFGF抑制Ⅰ型胶原的作用机制.发现bFGF刺激牙周膜细胞后能促进牙周膜细胞的增殖,bFGF抑制decorin的合成是bFGF促进牙周膜细胞增殖的重要调节因素之一.     

Novel aminopeptidase N inhibitors derived from antineoplaston AS2–5 (Part I)

Overexpression of zinc-dependent metalloproteinase, aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13), is considered to be involved in the process of tumor invasion and metastasis. Herein we describe the synthesis and in vitro enzymatic inhibition assay of antineoplaston AS2–5 scaffold peptidomimetic compounds. The results demonstrated that most of these l-iso-glutamine derivatives displayed selective inhibitory activity against APN as compared with MMP-2, with IC₅₀ values in the micromole range. The structure–activity relationships were also briefly discussed.     

Demonstration of diet-induced decoupling of fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis by combining gene expression array and 2H2O quantification

The liver is a crossroad for metabolism of lipid and carbohydrates, with acetyl-CoA serving as an important metabolic intermediate and a precursor for fatty acid and cholesterol biosynthesis pathways. A better understanding of the regulation of these pathways requires an experimental approach that provides both quantitative metabolic flux measurements and mechanistic insight. Under conditions of high carbohydrate availability, excess carbon is converted into free fatty acids and triglyceride for storage, but it is not clear how excessive carbohydrate availability affects cholesterol biosynthesis. To address this, C57BL/6J mice were fed either a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet or a high-fat, carbohydrate-free diet. At the end of the dietary intervention, the two groups received (2)H(2)O to trace de novo fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis, and livers were collected for gene expression analysis. Expression of lipid and glucose metabolism genes was determined using a custom-designed pathway focused PCR-based gene expression array. The expression analysis showed downregulation of cholesterol biosynthesis genes and upregulation of fatty acid synthesis genes in mice receiving the high-carbohydrate diet compared with the carbohydrate-free diet. In support of these findings, (2)H(2)O tracer data showed that fatty acid synthesis was increased 10-fold and cholesterol synthesis was reduced by 1.6-fold in mice fed the respective diets. In conclusion, by applying gene expression analysis and tracer methodology, we show that fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis are differentially regulated when the carbohydrate intake in mice is altered.     

Frequency Analysis and Anti-Shock Mechanism of Woodpecker＇s Head Structure

The mechanical properties of the skull and the anti-shock characteristics of woodpecker＇s head were investigated by ex- periment and numerical simulation. We measured the micro-Young＇s modulus of the skull by nano-indentation method and calculated the macro-equivalent Young＇s modulus of the skull at different positions using homogenization theory. Based on the Computerized Tomography （CT） images of woodpecker head, we then built complete and symmetric finite element models of woodpecker＇s skull and its internal structure and performed modal analysis and stress spectrum analysis. The numerical results show that the application of pre-tension force to the hyoid bone can increase the natural frequency of woodpecker＇s head. The first natural frequency under the pre-tension force of 25 N reaches 57 Hz, which is increased by 21.3% from the non-pre-tension state and is more than twice the working frequency of woodpecker （20 Hz 25 Hz）. On the application of impact force to the tip of beak for 0.6 ms, high magnitudes of stress component occur at around 100 Hz and 8,000 Hz, far away from both the working frequencies and the natural frequencies of woodpecker head. The large gaps among the natural, working and stress response frequencies enable the woodpecker to effectively protect its brain from the resonance injury.     

Diallyl trisulfide induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation of A549 cells in vitro and in vivo

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality all over the world. In recent years, pulmonary adenocarcinoma has surpassed squamous cell carcinoma in frequency and is the predominant form of lung cancer in many countries. Epidemiological investigations have shown an inverse relationship between garlic (Allium sativum) consumption and death rate from many cancers. Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) is one of the garlic-derived compounds (also known as: organosulfer compounds, OSC). DATS can induce apoptosis and inhibit the growth of many cancer cell lines. Our study demonstrated that the apoptotic incidents induced by DATS were a mitochondria-dependent caspase cascade through a significant decrease of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 that resulted in up-regulation of the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 and the activity of caspase-3, -8, and -9. Eventually, DATS induced the apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, by establishing an animal model of female BALB/c nude mice with A549 xenografts, we found that oral gavage of DATS significantly retarded growth of A549 xenografts in nude mice without causing weight loss or any other side effects compared with the control group. All the evidence both in vitro and in vivo suggested that DATS could be an ideal anti-cancer drug.     

一种新型豆渣面膜

介绍了一种新型豆渣面膜,并对其制备工艺、使用方法进行了研究;再对产品进行了测试、功能性讨论。结果表明,该面膜膏产品均符合中华人民共和国轻工行业标准QB/T2872-2007要求,并具有良好的稳定性、配伍性;该面膜具有生产工艺简单、成本低廉、安全环保,使用功效显著、性能温和、无刺激、无副作用的特点,是一种来源广泛的、实用的、多效的美容护肤品。     

重组人骨形成蛋白—3成熟肽的表达,纯化及诱骨活性的研究

推测人骨形成蛋白３羧基端的１２７氨基酸的肽段为其成熟肽（ｈＢＭＰ３ｍ）。将编码此成熟肽的ｃＤＮＡ插入含ＰＬ启动子的表达质粒ｐＤＨ中,构建表达质粒ｐＤＨＢ３ｍ,转化大肠杆菌ＤＨ５α。４２℃热诱导６ｈ后表达量达到最高水平,约占菌体总蛋白２８％;表达产物以包涵体形式存在。包涵体经分离和洗涤后,溶解于尿素,在变性溶解状态下经阳离子交换层析,目的蛋白纯度至少在９５％以上。再经稀释复性。然后将纯化、复性的重组人骨形成蛋白３成熟肽（ｒｈＢＭＰ３ｍ）植入小鼠肌肉间隙,于不同时间取材观察,在局部可见典型的软骨形成、软骨内成骨以及骨组织形成的过程,证实所制备的ｒｈＢＭＰ３ｍ具有明显的异位诱骨活性。