Body proportions of circumpolar peoples as evidenced from skeletal data: Ipiutak and Tigara (Point Hope) versus Kodiak Island Inuit

Given the well‐documented fact that human body proportions covary with climate (presumably due to the action of selection), one would expect that the Ipiutak and Tigara Inuit samples from Point Hope, Alaska, would be characterized by an extremely cold‐adapted body shape. Comparison of the Point Hope Inuit samples to a large (n > 900) sample of European and European‐derived, African and African‐derived, and Native American skeletons (including Koniag Inuit from Kodiak Island, Alaska) confirms that the Point Hope Inuit evince a cold‐adapted body form, but analyses also reveal some unexpected results. For example, one might suspect that the Point Hope samples would show a more cold‐adapted body form than the Koniag, given their more extreme environment, but this is not the case. Additionally, univariate analyses seldom show the Inuit samples to be more cold‐adapted in body shape than Europeans, and multivariate cluster analyses that include a myriad of body shape variables such as femoral head diameter, bi‐iliac breadth, and limb segment lengths fail to effectively separate the Inuit samples from Europeans. In fact, in terms of body shape, the European and the Inuit samples tend to be cold‐adapted and tend to be separated in multivariate space from the more tropically adapted Africans, especially those groups from south of the Sahara. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Design and Analysis of Multiple Events Case–Control Studies

Summary In case–control research where there are multiple case groups, standard analyses fail to make use of all available information. Multiple events case–control (MECC) studies provide a new approach to sampling from a cohort and are useful when it is desired to study multiple types of events in the cohort. In this design, subjects in the cohort who develop any event of interest are sampled, as well as a fraction of the remaining subjects. We show that a simple case–control analysis of data arising from MECC studies is biased and develop three general estimating‐equation‐based approaches to analyzing data from these studies. We conduct simulation studies to compare the efficiency of the various MECC analyses with each other and with the corresponding conventional analyses. It is shown that the gain in efficiency by using the new design is substantial in many situations. We demonstrate the application of our approach to a nested case–control study of the effect of oral sodium phosphate use on chronic kidney injury with multiple case definitions.     

兴奋性氨基酸受体的激活介导冷水应激诱导的tau蛋白磷酸化

为探讨兴奋性神经传递系统是否参与冷水应激引起的tau蛋白磷酸化,将小鼠于4℃冷水应激5min.采用免疫印迹和免疫组织化学方法分析应激后脑内c-fos和磷酸化tau蛋白的表达情况;运用HPLC检测冷水应激后小鼠脑内兴奋性或抑制性神经递质的变化;同时分析兴奋性氨基酸受体和L-型钙通道拮抗剂预处理后冷水应激小鼠脑内磷酸化tau蛋白的水平.冷水应激后1h,海马内磷酸化tau蛋白的水平显著升高,同时伴c-fos的染色增加.HPLC检测显示,兴奋性和抑制性神经递质呈现急剧上升而后又下降的趋势.冷水应激后15min,天冬氨酸和甘氨酸水平显著升高,1h后天冬氨酸、谷氨酸、牛磺酸和γ-氨基丁酸显著下降.NMDA受体拮抗剂MK-801(5mg/kg)和AMPA受体拮抗剂DNQX(0.5,5mg/kg)可显著抑制冷水应激引起的磷酸化tau蛋白水平的升高,代谢性谷氨酸受体拮抗剂MAP-4不影响tau蛋白的磷酸化,另外,L-型钙通道阻断剂尼莫地平可抑制冷水应激引起的磷酸化tau蛋白水平的升高.这些结果表明,冷水应激可影响兴奋性神经传递系统,通过离子型兴奋性氨基酸受体和异常神经激活来调节tau蛋白的磷酸化.兴奋性神经传递系统的激活在冷水...     

寒冷诱导产热时大鼠棕色脂肪能量代谢相关蛋白谱的变化

棕色脂肪组织(BAT)的生理作用与白色脂肪显著不同,它以产热的形式释放能量而不是将能量以ATP的形式储存．线粒体是在能量代谢和维持细胞稳态中具有重要功能的细胞器．为了更好地了解棕色脂肪中的能量代谢过程,运用双向电泳及质谱相结合的技术,分离了大鼠白色和棕色脂肪线粒体,对其差异蛋白质谱进行了系统分析和鉴定．参与脂肪和氨基酸代谢、三羧酸循环及线粒体呼吸链的蛋白质在棕色脂肪线粒体中的表达明显高于白色脂肪线粒体,在寒冷诱导下这些蛋白质的表达进一步上调．此外,参与辅酶Q合成的一系列COQ 基因在棕色脂肪中经寒冷适应后表达明显上调．该研究表明,辅 酶Q合成的增高在非颤栗性产热中具有重要作用,为进一步了解棕色脂肪特异性的能量代谢提供了新的思路．     

不同质子泵抑制剂对冠脉支架植入术后氯吡格雷联合阿司匹林抗血小板作用的研究

目的:通过比较奥美拉唑和泮托拉唑对冠状动脉支架术(PCI)后患者血小板功能指标和主要不良心血管事件与出血并发症发生情况,探讨不同质子泵抑制剂对PCI后氯吡格雷联合阿司匹林抗血小板作用的影响。方法:60例实施PCI后常规联合抗血小板治疗(氯吡格雷75mg/d+阿司匹林100mg/d)患者随机分为奥美拉唑组(40mg/d,20例),泮托拉唑组(40mg/d,20例)和对照组(20例),连续用药30d。分别在服药前1d及服药15d,30d用血栓弹力图检测ADP途径诱导的血小板抑制率值和比浊法检测ADP途径诱导的血小板最大聚集率(MPAR)。并观察30d各组主要不良心血管事件和出血并发症的发生情况。结果:①奥美拉唑组和泮托拉唑组与对照组相比,服药前1d及服药15d,30d用血栓弹力图检测的血小板抑制率和比浊法检测的血小板最大聚集率(MPAR)均无明显变化;奥美拉唑与泮托拉唑组间比较,差异也无统计学意义。服药15d,30d与服药前1d相比,每组血小板抑制率明显升高,血小板最大聚集率明显下降,差异有统计学意义(P0.05);但15d和30d相比较,差异无统计学意义。②三组比较心血管事件发生率相近,差异无统计学意义(P0.05);奥美拉唑组和泮托拉唑组比较,心血管事件发生率也无统计学差异(P0.05)。③与对照组比较,奥美拉唑组和泮托拉唑组胃肠道出血发生率均明显减少,有统计学意义(P0.05),但两服药组间比较,出血发生率无明显区别,差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:氯吡格雷联合阿司匹林具有增强血小板抑制,降低血小板凝聚的作用,而不同机制质子泵抑制剂奥美拉唑与泮托拉唑对PCI术后氯吡格雷联合阿司匹林抗血小板治疗患者的血小板功能无明显影响,不降低对心血管事件的预防效果,同时明显降低患者胃肠出血事件的发生率。     

Cold tolerance of hatched and unhatched second stage juveniles of the potato cyst-nematode Globodera rostochiensis

Perry R. N. and Wharton D. A. 1985. Cold tolerance of hatched and unhatched second stage juveniles of the potato cyst-nematode, Globodera rostochiensis. International Journal for Parasitology15: 441–445. Hatched second-stage juveniles of Globodera rostochiensis can survive sub-zero temperatures by supercooling when not in contact with water. When frozen in water free juveniles cannot survive ice seeding across the cuticle and concomitant freezing of their body contents. Unhatched juveniles can survive in water, probably because the egg-shell protects the juvenile from ice seeding across from the medium; in this state juveniles survive by supercooling.     

Physiology of diapause in the adult bark beetle, Ips acuminatus Gyll., studied in relation to cold hardiness

The ovarioles of the bark beetle, Ips acuminatus are telotrophic. Ovarian development is suppressed at an immature stage with primary germ cells present in the germaria. Lower oxygen consumption is found in beetles during autumn and early winter, and a substantial rise in mean respiration rates occurs in the beginning of January paralleled by a resumption of pre-vitellogenesis in all females maintained either at 3°C or out of doors after return to 21°C for 2 weeks. It is concluded that I. acuminatus enters faculative diapause soon after enclosure to the adult, and that diapause is terminated by mid-winter in beetles kept for 18 weeks at either 3°C or out of doors. The specimens remain thereafter in reproductive quiescence until ovarian development can proceed.Photic cues are neither involved in the elevation of mean respiration rates, nor needed to abolish the inhibition of ovarian maturation in beetles kept at 3°C or in those returned to 21°C. However, follicle formation in ovarioles is only seen in positive phototactic females reared during “long-day” conditions, suggesting a photoperiodic regulation of the later stages of vitellogenesis.Detectable amounts of ethylene glycol are found at the beginning of November in freezing-susceptible I. acuminatus hibernating in its galleries underneath bark of Scots pine (Pinus silvestris) at 3°C. The gradual catabolism of the cryoprotective solute at 3°C through December occurred at a time when individuals achieved the competence to resume ovarian maturation during 2 weeks at 21°C, but prior to the substantial rise in their mean respiration rates. However, resumption of ovarian development in spring had no effect on the capability of outdoor beetles to enhance their supercooling capacity when subjected to sub-zero temperatures. Since the ability to respond to temperature changes occurred in post-diapause I. acuminatus as well, the maintenance of prolonged cold hardiness in specimens could not be related to diapause itself. Apparently, the ability of beetles to resynthesize ethylene glycol when a detectable level is present in the organism remains unaltered during overwintering.     

Genome Re-duplication and Irregular Segregation Occur During the Cell Cycle of Entamoeba histolytica

Heterogeneity of genome content is commonly observed in axenic cultures of Entamoeba histolytica. Cells with multiple nuclei and nuclei with heterogenous genome contents suggest that regulatory mechanisms that ensure alternation of DNA synthesis and mitosis are absent in this organism. Therefore, several endo-reduplicative cycles may occur without mitosis. The data also shows that unlike other endo-reduplicating organisms, E.histolytica does not undergo a precise number of endo-reduplicative cycles. We propose that irregular endo-reduplication and genome partitioning lead to heterogeneity in the genome content of E.histolytica trophozoites in their proliferative phase. The goal of future studies should be aimed at understanding the mechanisms that are involved in (a) accumulation of multiple genome contents in a single nucleus; (b) genome segregation in nuclei that contain multiple genome contents and (c) maintenance of genome fidelity in E. histolytica.     

Near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) of pigment-protein complexes: peridinin-chlorophyll a protein (PCP) of Amphidinium carterae

Peridinin-chlorophyll a protein (PCP) is a unique water soluble antenna complex that employs the carotenoid peridinin as the main light-harvesting pigment. In the present study the near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectrum of PCP was recorded at the carbon K-edge. Additionally, the NEXAFS spectra of the constituent pigments, chlorophyll a and peridinin, were measured. The energies of the lowest unoccupied molecular levels of these pigments appearing in the carbon NEXAFS spectrum were resolved. Individual contributions of the pigments and the protein to the measured NEXAFS spectrum of PCP were determined using a “building block” approach combining NEXAFS spectra of the pigments and the amino acids constituting the PCP apoprotein. The results suggest that absorption changes of the pigments in the carbon near K-edge region can be resolved following excitation using a suitable visible pump laser pulse. Consequently, it may be possible to study excitation energy transfer processes involving “optically dark” states of carotenoids in pigment-protein complexes by soft X-ray probe optical pump double resonance spectroscopy (XODR).