Four-million-year-Old hominids from East Lake Turkana,Kenya

A piece of mandible and several isolated teeth are reported from fluviatile sediments older than 4 million years at East Lake Turkana. They most closely resemble hominids from Laetoli, Tanzania and Hadar, Ethiopia which have been assigned to Australopithecus afarensis. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

犬冠状病毒S蛋白主要抗原区基因片断的表达及免疫原性

应用Pichiapastoris酵母表达了犬冠状病毒大熊猫野毒株(CCV DXMV)S蛋白主要抗原区基因片断.用特异性引物扩增出CCVDXMV株S1基因片断,并将其克隆到pGEM-T载体中得到pTS1.用KpnI和NotI双酶切pTS1回收目的基因S1定向克隆到pPICZαA中,构建出重组质粒pPICZ αAS1.将pPICZαAS1用SacI内切酶线性化后,电转化感受态GS115酵母细胞,用PCR法筛选阳性重组子.用1%的甲醇诱导重组酵母菌,取培养物上清进行重组蛋白的检测.结果重组酵母菌培养物上清用SDS-PAGE电泳可检测到相对分子量为106kDa大小的重组蛋白,Western-blot证实该重组蛋白可以与CCV多克隆抗体发生特异性血清学反应.凝胶薄层扫描分析表明,3株重组酵母菌在1%甲醇诱导144h后,重组蛋白S1表达量约占培养物上清总蛋白量的6.6-8.6%左右.用重组蛋白S1免疫BALB/C小鼠3次后,小鼠血清CCV中和抗体可达18-116,表明重组S1蛋白具有一定的免疫原性.     

表达狂犬病毒糖蛋白抗原的重组犬2型腺病毒的构建及鉴定

为研制一种预防犬科动物狂犬病的新型疫苗,将含有狂犬病毒ERA株糖蛋白基因(Rabies glycoprotein,Rgp)表达盒的穿梭质粒pVAXΔE3Rgp中的Rgp表达盒克隆入犬2型腺病毒(Canine adenovirus type2,CAV2)骨架质粒pPoly2-CAV2中,获得重组质粒pPoly2-CAV2-ΔE3-Rgp,释放其基因组,转染MDCK细胞系,获得E3缺失区(Deletion of early protein3,ΔE3)含有Rgp表达盒的重组病毒CAV2-ΔE3-Rgp。该重组病毒能在MDCK细胞上产生典型的腺病毒细胞病变。通过酶切、PCR、基因测序,表明该重组病毒含有完整的Rgp表达盒。通过RT-PCR、Western blot等检测,表明该重组病毒能够表达Rgp抗原。用该重组病毒免疫犬,3次免疫后,可以诱导犬产生特异的抗CAV2HI抗体,其效价超过1∶256和抗狂犬病病毒(Rabies virus,RV)中和抗体,其效价超过0.50IU/mL。试验结果表明,获得的重组病毒免疫犬后,能够产生抗狂犬病毒和腺病毒的高效价保护性抗体,是一种有潜力的犬科动物狂犬病毒腺病毒二联疫苗候选株。     

A note on the effectiveness of behavioural rehabilitation for reducing inter-dog aggression in shelter dogs

The effectiveness of a rehabilitation program for reducing inter-dog aggression was evaluated at the municipal animal shelter. Sixteen dogs (of 60 examined) met the study criteria of medium inter-dog aggression as determined by an inter-dog aggression test. These dogs received a 10-day treatment of daily rehabilitation for 30 min (rehabilitation group, n = 9) or daily release into an outdoor enclosure for 30 min (control group, n = 7). Rehabilitation consisted of desensitising and counter-conditioning dogs to the approach of other “stimulus” dogs. Most dogs in the rehabilitation group showed a decline in aggression scores when re-tested after the last treatment (day 11), and differed significantly from the control dogs which showed either an increase or no change in aggression scores (U = 8.5, P < 0.01). Rehabilitation dogs also showed lower frequencies of aggressive body postures (“facing the stimulus dog”, P < 0.05, and “stiff posture”, P < 0.10) and higher frequencies of less assertive postures (“ears back”, P < 0.05, and “lowered neck”, P < 0.10) on day 11. The differences between groups were no longer significant when a reduced sample of dogs was tested 1 week after rehabilitation ended (day 18). The study shows short-term reduction of inter-dog aggression through rehabilitation, but further work is needed on effective ways of maintaining the behavioural change.     

Markers of physiological stress in juvenile bonobos (Pan paniscus): Are enamel hypoplasia,skeletal development and tooth size interrelated?

A reduction in enamel thickness due to disrupted amelogenesis is referred to as enamel hypoplasia (EH). Linear EH in permanent teeth is a widely accepted marker of systemic physiological stress. An enigmatic, nonlinear form of EH commonly manifest in great ape and human deciduous canines (dc) is known as localized hypoplasia of primary canines (LHPC). The etiology of LHPC and what it signifies—localized traumatic or systemic physiological stress—remains unclear. This report presents frequency data on LHPC, hypostotic cranial traits, and tooth size in a sample of juvenile bonobos, then tests hypotheses of intertrait association that improve knowledge of the etiology and meaning of LHPC. The fenestration hypothesis is tested using hypostotic cranial traits as a proxy for membrane bone ossification, and the relationship between tooth size, LHPC, and hypostosis is investigated. Macroscopic observations of EH, hypostotic traits, and measurements of buccolingual tooth size were conducted according to established standards. LHPC was found in 51.2% of bonobos (n = 86) and in 26% of dc teeth (n = 269). Hypostotic traits were observed in 55.2% of bonobos (n = 96). A test of the association between LHPC and hypostosis yielded nonsignificant results (χ² = 2.935; P = 0.0867). Primary canines were larger in specimens with LHPC than in unaffected specimens (paired samples t test; udc, P = 0.011; ldc, P = 0.018), a result consistent with the fenestration hypothesis of LHPC pathogenesis. Hypostosis was not associated with differences in tooth size (P > 0.05). LHPC may be an indirect indicator of physiological stress, resulting from large, buccally displaced primary canines. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A multiplex biomarker approach for the diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma from canine urine

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), the most common cancer of the urinary bladder in dogs, is usually diagnosed at an advanced disease stage with limited response to chemotherapy. Commercial screening tests lack specificity and current diagnostic procedures are invasive. A proof of concept pilot project for analyzing the canine urinary proteome as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for TCC identification was conducted. Urine was collected from 12 dogs in three cohorts (healthy, urinary tract infection, TCC) and analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The presence of four proteins (macrophage capping protein, peroxiredoxin 5, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins A2/B, and apolipoprotein A1) was confirmed via immunoblot. Of the total 379 proteins identified, 96 were unique to the TCC group. A statistical model, designed to evaluate the accuracy of this multiplex biomarker approach for diagnosis of TCC, predicted the presence of disease with 90% accuracy.     

PIXE analysis of some medicinal plants used in cleaning teeth in southwestern Nigeria

Sixteen medicinal plants used for cleaning teeth in southwestern Nigeria were analyzed using the particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique. These medicinal plants have other therapeutic uses, but the emphasis and main focus were on their beneficial effects on human teeth. PIXE measurements were carried out using 1.8 MeV collimated proton beam from the 2.5 MV AN 2000 Van de Graaff accelerator at the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Padova Italy. The results showed the presence of 18 different elements at different concentrations, 2 plants had traces of gold, and none of the plants contained any toxic heavy metals. The metabolic roles of the detected elements were discussed especially as they affected the formation, growth, development, and protection of human teeth. The results of this study are presented and discussed.     

Evidence for new Neanderthal teeth in Tabun Cave (Israel) by the application of self-organizing maps (SOMs)

Morphological and metrical study suggested that seven human teeth from Tabun Cave, Israel were part of the upper dentition of a single, probably Neanderthal, individual renumbered as Tabun BC7. An enamel fragment gave ESR age estimates of 82+/-14 ka (early U-uptake) and 92+/-18 ka (linear uptake) and an age estimate of 90(+30)(-16) ka using U-series disequilibrium. Although metrical analyses suggested Neanderthal affinities, definitive assessment was difficult as the values often fell into the ranges of both Neanderthal and Levantine early modern human samples. Therefore, two further classification analyses were conducted (neural networks using self-organizing maps and homogeneity analysis). Both identify Tabun BC7 as a Neanderthal. Neural networks are a promising tool for paleoanthropological studies as they can provide reliable classifications even with incomplete data.