腹腔镜肾癌根治术治疗肾癌的疗效观察

目的:观察腹腔镜肾癌根治术治疗肾癌的疗效。方法:选取2013年12月~2015年12月于我院诊治的肾细胞癌并行肾癌根治术患者70例,其中42例患者行腹腔镜肾癌根治术,纳入微创组;28例患者行开放性肾癌根治术,纳入对照组。比较两组患者围手术期情况、术后第3天炎症指标与肾功能、围术期并发症。结果:与对照组相比,微创组患者手术时间、住院时间、手术切口较短,术后下床走动时间、术后停止禁食时间较早,手术出血量、手术费用较少(P0.001)。与对照组相比,微创组患者WBC、CRP水平较低(P0.001)。微创组患者围术期总并发症发生率为4.8%,低于对照组(21.5%),差异有统计学意义(x~2=4.610,P=0.032)。结论:腹腔镜肾癌根治术治疗肾癌较开放性肾癌根治术有疗效佳、安全性好、术后恢复快及并发症少的优势,值得临床推广。     

A situation in which a local nontoxic refuge promotes pest resistance to toxic crops

In order to delay the development of pest resistance to genetically engineered insecticidal crop varieties, it is current practice to grow "refugees" of non-toxic plants close to insecticidal crops. We model such a toxic/nontoxic crop complex as an open system with a small stream of toxin-susceptible immigrants. We find that, for intermediate values of the dominance of a pest gene for resistance to the toxin, the local refuge can spoil the benefit that is provided by the immigrant stream. We provide formulas for some important boundaries in parameter space.     

(−)-Linalool, a naturally occurring monoterpene compound, impairs memory acquisition in the object recognition task, inhibitory avoidance test and habituation to a novel environment in rats

It is known that (−)-linalool is a competitive antagonist of NMDA receptors, which play a key role in the learning and memory processes; however, only a few studies have reported a possible interference of (−)-linalool in memory. The purpose of this study was to investigate the (−)-linalool effects on acquisition of short- and long-term memories through the objects recognition task, inhibitory avoidance test and habituation to a novel environment. Furthermore, the open field test was used to investigate the interference of (−)-linalool in motivation, locomotion and exploration by animals. Wistar male adult rats received an intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) of saline (NaCl 0.9%), tween 5% or (−)-linalool (50 or 100 mg/kg) before training in the tasks; MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg), a glutamate antagonist, was used as positive control. Short-term (STM) and long-term (LTM) memories were tested 1.5 and 24 h after training, respectively, in the inhibitory avoidance and recognition objects. The results suggested that (−)-linalool (as 50- and 100-mg/kg doses) impaired LTM acquisition, but not STM acquisition, in the object recognition task. In the inhibitory avoidance test, animals receiving linalool (both doses) showed impairment in acquisition of both memories measured. In the open field test, the animals that received (−)-linalool showed no significant difference in the crossings and latency to start the locomotion in any of the doses tested, although (−)-linalool 100 mg/kg reduced rearing behavior. When re-exposed to open field 24 h after training, the rats that received (−)-linalool 100 mg/kg showed no habituation. Taken together, these data suggested that (−)-linalool was able to impair the acquisition of memory in rats, which can be associated to (−)-linalool antagonist capacity as regards NMDA glutamatergic receptors, since other glutamate antagonists also seem to affect memory.     

WHEN SPEED TRULY MATTERS, OPENNESS IS THE ANSWER

In this paper I analyse the ethical implications of the two main competing methodologies in genomic research. I do not aim to provide another contribution from the mainstream legal and public policy perspective; rather I offer a novel approach in which I analyse and describe the patent-and-publish regime (the proprietary regime) led by biologist J. Craig Venter and the 'open-source' methodologies led by biotechnology Nobel laureate John Sulston. The 'open-source methodologies' arose in biotechnology as an alternative to the patent-and-publish regime in the wake of the explosion in computer technology. Indeed, the tremendous increase in computer technology has generated a corresponding increase in the pace of genomics research. I conclude this paper by arguing that while the patent-and-publish method is a transactional method based on the exchange of extrinsic goods (patents in exchange for research funds), the free and open-source methodology (FLOSS) ¹ is a transformational method based on a visionary ideal of science, which leads to prioritizing intrinsic goods in scientific research over extrinsic goods.     

Targeted disruption of the Pak5 and Pak6 genes in mice leads to deficits in learning and locomotion

PAK6 is a member of the group B family of PAK serine/threonine kinases, and is highly expressed in the brain. The group B PAKs, including PAK4, PAK5, and PAK6, were first identified as effector proteins for the Rho GTPase Cdc42. They have important roles in filopodia formation, the extension of neurons, and cell survival. Pak4 knockout mice die in utero, and the embryos have several abnormalities, including a defect in the development of motor neurons. In contrast, Pak5 knockout mice do not have any noticeable abnormalities. So far nothing is known about the biological function of Pak6. To address this, we have deleted the Pak6 gene in mice. Since Pak6 and Pak5 are both expressed in the brain, we also generated Pak5/Pak6 double knockout mice. These mice were viable and fertile, but had several locomotor and behavioral deficits. Our results indicate that Pak5 and Pak6 together are not required for viability, but are required for a normal level of locomotion and activity as well as for learning and memory. This is consistent with a role for the group B PAKs in the nervous system.     

Inner city stormwater control using a combination of best management practices

Structural best management practices (BMPs) are now commonplace for stormwater management in new suburban developments; however, their installation in older central areas is limited. Here, the effect of disconnecting impervious areas from a combined sewer in favour of a new open stormwater system is investigated. The site, an inner city suburb of Malmö, Sweden, consists of council offices and apartment blocks separated by courtyards, roads and parking places. The BMPs range from green-roofs and open channels to detention ponds and their choice, size and location was dictated by cost, available land, safety and public expectations. The system was assessed by comparing synthetic hydrographs for the 1/2, 2, 5 and 10-year design-storms assuming wet and dry initial conditions. Direct runoff was simulated using the time–area method; and routing through the BMPs using PondPack. As the BMPs are in series, the outflow of one BMP became part of the inflow to the next in the system. Additionally, the water balance for the year 2001–2002 was investigated. It was found that the green-roofs are effective at lowering the total runoff from Augustenborg and that the ponds should successfully attenuate storm peak flows for even the 10-year rainfall.     

Spatial structure-mediated indirect effects of an aquatic plant, Trapa japonica, on interaction between a leaf beetle, Galerucella nipponensis, and a water strider, Gerris nepalensis

The spatial structure-mediated indirect effects of an aquatic host plant, Trapa japonica (Trapaceae), on survival of a leaf beetle, Galerucella nipponensis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), with regard to predation by a water strider, Gerris nepalensis (Hemiptera: Gerridae), were investigated in an irrigation pond and under indoor conditions. Beetle density, particularly in the first-instar stage of the larvae, became extremely low in the second generation in the pond, even though food resources were abundant. The biological check method, which excludes natural enemies by caging, suggested that a causal factor of the low density was predation by Gerris nepalensis in midsummer and thereafter. Normally growing rosettes extend their leaves horizontally on the water surface. However, some rosettes of T. japonica grew leaves vertically in the later seasons, and such overgrown rosettes were distributed patchily in the ponds. Beetle density was higher on the latter rosettes than on the former ones. The indoor experiment showed that the water strider can feed on the eggs of beetles on normally grown rosettes but not on the overgrown rosettes. Furthermore, female adults of Galerucella nipponensis preferred the overgrown rosettes over the normally grown rosettes for oviposition when water striders were present. These facts suggest that the spatial structure-mediated indirect effects of the host plant modify the interaction between herbivore and predator. Received: November 22, 2001 / Accepted: February 26, 2002     

Le Jas d’en Biel 2, nouveau site gravettien du piémont est-méditerranéen des Pyrénées

The Corbières massif forms the lowest part of the Eastern Pyrenees, and as such is the easiest natural passage to connect the coastal plains of Languedoc and Roussillon in Southern France with those of Gironès and Barcelona in Northern Spanish Catalonia. This geographical situation confers on each of the sites discovered in this passage a role of milestone that can allow us to apprehend the dynamics of anthropic movements and relationships across these spaces. In 2007, the presence of a first Gravettian site in this Northern Pyrenean foothill was published: Jas d’en Biel 1. This discovery filled an “archaeological void” between the Gravettian sites of Languedoc and those of Spanish Catalonia. The discovery of a new site: Jas d’en Biel 2, 300 m from the first, reinforces the Gravettian presence in this region. The fact that the two sites present similar characteristics in terms of anthropic choices (solar orientation, proximity to a watercourse, lightness of the soil, protection from the wind, etc.) are all parameters that demonstrate the choices made by Gravettian men. The respective compositions of the lithic industries of the series do not show significant differences, allowing us to imagine a certain synchronism between the two sites. Burins are the most numerous tools, but at Jas d’en Biel 2 we find specimens close to the Raysse type that were absent from Jas d’en Biel 1. Jas d’en Biel 2, as well as its neighbor Jas d’en Biel 1, shows similarities with certain sites in Languedoc, such as Bois-des-Brousses, La Treille, La Verrière, the caves of Bize or La Crouzade. These are usually small deposits that belong to terminal moments of the Gravettian period. All these parameters point to similarities between the Languedoc sites and Jas d’en Biel 1 and 2. The geographical position of the Corbières massif allows us to consider the Jas d’en Biel sites as the last milestones of the Gravettian period upstream from the crossing of the Pyrenean passes, before the sites of the Serinyà region, such as l’Arbreda. Recent surveys carried out in the same valley of the Ravin d’en Saman have made it possible to locate and identify several other open-air settlements related to the Gravettian lato sensu. An analysis of intra- and extra-site characteristics will aim to understand the parameters that led men to settle in this micro-zone, as well as the reasons for this “concentration”.     

Palaeoecological interpretation of the late Miocene landscapes and vegetation of northern Greece: A comment to Merceron et al., 2016 (Geobios 49, 135–146)

Recent works on feeding habits of ungulates, isotopic composition of equid tooth enamel, and phytoliths from late Miocene localities of northern Greece suggested the presence of savannah and excluded dense forests. Furthermore, Mediterranean-like climates were advocated for the late Miocene of Greece. Here, I compare palaeoenvironments inferred for two mammal localities from Chalkidiki and the Axios Valley (Nikiti, upper Vallesian and lower Turolian; Dytiko, upper Turolian) with evidence from contemporaneous plant assemblages from adjacent areas in Greece and Bulgaria. I use vegetation units inferred from pollen and spore, fruit and seed, and leaf assemblages and compare them with the vegetation inferred from mammal and phytolith data. Open vegetation as inferred from mammal and phytolith data is also part of the range of vegetation units discovered from the pollen and spore, seed and fruit, and leaf record (here called the palaeobotanical record). Poaceae are consistently present in late Vallesian to late Turolian pollen records of northern Greece. Further, a number of vegetation units are indicative of forest vegetation ranging from lowland to upland forests dominated by woody angiosperms and mixed coniferous-angiosperm forests. The presence of such forests is not in conflict with the results from mammal and phytolith studies, but it broadens the view on landscapes present in the late Miocene of northern Greece. In addition to a generalized vegetation type commonly inferred by mammal studies, the palaeobotanical record demonstrates the presence of various complementary vegetation types. A comprehensive view on late Miocene landscapes in northern Greece shows that there is no conflict in inferring open herb dominated landscapes and light to dense forests and provides new opportunities for the ecological interpretation of late Miocene ungulates.