Fructan contents and dry matter deposition in different tissues of the wheat grain during development

The role of fructan metabolism in the assimilate relations of the grain of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was investigated by determination of the dry matter and fructan content of grain components at short intervals during grain filling. During the initial phase of rapid expansion, most of the assimilates entering the grain were partitioned to the outer pericarp. A large fraction of these assimilates were used for the synthesis of fructan. Dry matter deposition and fructan synthesis in the outer pericarp ceased at about 5d after anthesis. At the same time, the endosperm and the inner pericarp and testa started to accumulate dry matter at a fast rate. This was also associated with significant fructan synthesis in the latter tissues. The outer pericarp lost about 45% of its former maximum dry weight between 9 and 19 d after anthesis. This loss was due almost entirely to the near complete disappearance of water-soluble carbohydrates, most of which was fructan. The inner pericarp and testa accumulated dry matter until about mid-grain filling. The fructan contents of the inner pericarp and testa and the endosperm decreased slowly towards the end of grain filling. Most of the fructans in the inner pericarp and testa and the endosperm had a low molecular weight, whereas higher molecular weight fructans predominated in the outer pericarp. The embryo did not contain fructan. The presence of low molecular weight fructans in the endosperm cavity at mid-grain filling was confirmed. It is suggested that fructan synthesis is closely linked to growth-related water deposition in the different tissues of the wheat grain and serves to sequester the surplus of imported sucrose.     

人类口腔小生境微生物的多样性

本文论述了人类口腔中微生物的物种多样性,口腔小生境的复杂性与微生物多样性的关系,以及口腔中微生物变化与人类疾病和健康的关系。     

天麻的营养繁殖茎及其抑菌功能

天麻9Gastrodia elata Bl.）与蜜环菌（Armillaria mellea (Vahl.ex Fr.)Quel.)营共生生活,在正常情况下蜜环菌只侵染种麻及分化生长出的营养繁殖茎的表皮、皮层及大型细胞层。种麻的大型细胞层及营养繁殖茎隔离区的空腔细胞层和木栓细胞层,都是种麻与新生麻的防御结构,它们保护新生麻不遭蜜环菌病理侵染而正常生长。冬季,天麻进入冬期,隔离区的木栓细胞层形成断裂层,此层细胞是新生麻能够安全越冬的最后一道防御结构。     

Taenia crassiceps organic acids detected in cysticerci

Taenia crassiceps cysticerci is used as an experimental model to cysticercosis studies; however there are subcutaneous cases of cysticercosis caused by these cysticerci. It remains unclear in the literature the energetic and fatty acid metabolism in cestodes. Its metabolic study may provide knowledge of pathways that may serve as potential anti-helminthic drugs sites of action. In this work we studied the citric acid cycle organic acids and the fatty acid oxidation in cysticerci removed from mice with 21 and 42 days of infection in two different evolutive stages: growing and final. The organic acids were extracted using perchloric acid and analyzed by HPLC methodology. We found significant statistically differences in oxalate, malate, lactate, and beta-hydroxybutirate concentrations between cysticerci. These results indicate the aerobic metabolism in vivo in spite of the low oxygen concentration of its habitat, and also indicate the presence of fatty acid oxidation as an alternative energetic source.     

Identification of air phase retronasal and orthonasal odorant pairs

Identifications (IDs) of paired retronasal and orthonasal odorants were studied, with stimuli limited to air phase. Odorants were liquid extracts of plant materials, sold as food flavorings, matched by each subject both for retronasal-only and orthonasal-only air phase intensities and then learned to 100% correct veridical name retronasal-only and orthonasal-only IDs. Subjects were tested for ID of (a) retronasal-only and orthonasal-only odorants, (b) homogeneously paired odorant (the same odorant in retronasal and orthonasal locations), and (c) heterogeneously paired odorants (different odorants in retronasal and orthonasal locations). Paired odorants were presented in two different sequences: retronasal location odorant smelled first or orthonasal location odorant smelled first. IDs were reported after odorants were removed. Results were as follows: (a) no significant differences between correct ID of odorants when in retronasal-only versus orthonasal-only locations, although percent correct IDs were lower for half the retronasal-only location odorants; (b) correct ID of a homogeneously paired odorant equaled or exceeded its unpaired ID, with two successive, identical IDs reported on the majority of its trials; (c) with heterogeneous pairs, for all odorants when in the orthonasal location of a pair, correct ID occurred less often than when these odorants were presented orthonasal-only, but for odorants in the retronasal location, correct ID equaled or exceeded retronasal-only correct ID; and (d) perceived order of presentation of heterogeneous pairs was the reverse of the physically presented sequence for both retronasal-first and orthonasal-first conditions. The heterogeneous odorant ID outcome supports the concept that processing of retronasal and orthonasal odorants differ, and the perceived reversal of the presented sequence is in agreement with the importance of recency in odorant memory.     

Advertising individual identity by mother and adolescent contact calls in Siberian wapiti Cervus elaphus sibiricus

Individualistic contact calls facilitate mother‐offspring reunion after separation. However, in many mammals, both the acoustic structure and individuality of contact calls differ between mother and young. In contrast, in Siberian wapiti Cervus elaphus sibiricus, contact calls are similar in the acoustics between mother and young, whereas effects of this similarity on vocal individuality were not investigated. In this study, we analyzed acoustic differences between closed‐mouth (nasal) and open‐mouth (oral) contact calls and examined individuality of the most usual oral calls of 19 Siberian wapiti (9 hinds and 10 5–6‐month adolescents) emitted in response to mother‐offspring separation. In the oral calls, the values of frequency and power variables were higher than in the nasal calls. Calls of hinds and adolescents did not differ by the maximum fundamental frequency and duration, whereas the peak frequency was higher in the young. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) based on 11 acoustic variables of oral calls accurately classified to individual 92.5% of hind calls and 96.9% of adolescent calls (chi‐square test for differences between hinds and adolescents, p = 0.19). Variables mainly contributing to vocal identity (duration, start, and maximum fundamental frequency) were the same in calls of mothers and adolescents. We conclude that similarities in the acoustics calls of mothers and adolescents mean that they do not differ in their potential for encoding individual identity, suggesting a mutual process of mother‐offspring vocal recognition in Siberian wapiti.     

孟鲁司特与糠酸莫米松鼻喷剂联合治疗儿童变应性鼻炎的近期疗效观察

目的:评价口服孟鲁司特和糠酸莫米松鼻喷剂联合治疗儿童变应性鼻炎的近期疗效,以优化儿童变应性鼻炎的治疗方案。方法:选择2011年4月~2012年4月在潍坊市人民医院耳鼻喉科就诊并确诊为变应性鼻炎的患儿48例,随机分为联合用药组(MM组,24例)和糠酸莫米松组(MS组,24例)。MM组患者给予糠酸莫米松喷鼻(早晨喷鼻1次,每次2喷),孟鲁司特片口服(5mg/次,1次/天,睡前30分口服);MS组患者给予糠酸莫米松喷鼻(早晨喷鼻2次,每次2喷)。两组的治疗疗程均为3个月,治疗后观察和比较两组患者鼻塞、鼻痒、流清涕、喷嚏等临床症状及鼻内镜的检查结果。结果:治疗1个月后,两组治疗总有效率的差异无统计学意义(P0.05);治疗3个月后,两组症状评分的改善高于1月末(P0.05);治疗3个月后,MM组的治疗总有效率显著高于MS组(P0.05)。结论:糠酸莫米松与孟鲁司特联合治疗儿童常年性变异性鼻炎的临床疗效优于单用糠酸莫米松治疗,且不良反应少。对于常年性变应性鼻炎患儿的治疗应以序贯性和个体化治疗为原则,最大程度发挥糠酸莫米松与孟鲁司特间的相互协同作用。     

Mapping bone cell distributions to assess ontogenetic origin of primate midfacial form

Midfacial reduction in primates has been explained as a byproduct of other growth patterns, especially the convergent orbits. This is at once an evolutionary and developmental explanation for relatively short snouts in most modern primates. Here, we use histological sections of perinatal nonhuman primates (tamarin, tarsier, loris) to investigate how orbital morphology emerges during ontogeny in selected primates compared to another euarchontan (Tupaia glis). We annotated serial histological sections for location of osteoclasts or osteoblasts, and used these to create three‐dimensional “modeling maps” showing perinatal growth patterns of the facial skeleton. In addition, in one specimen we transferred annotations from histological sections to CT slices, to create a rotatable 3D volume that shows orbital modeling. Our findings suggest that growth in the competing orbital and neurocranial functional matrices differs among species, influencing modeling patterns. Distinctions among species are observed in the frontal bone, at a shared interface between the endocranial fossa and the orbit. The medial orbital wall is extensively resorptive in primates, whereas the medial orbit is generally depositional in Tupaia. As hypothesized, the orbital soft tissues encroach on available interorbital space. However, eye size cannot, by itself, explain the extent of reduction of the olfactory recess. In Loris, the posterior portion of medial orbit differed from the other primates. It showed evidence of outward drift where the olfactory bulb increased in cross‐sectional area. We suggest the olfactory bulbs are significant to orbit position in strepsirrhines, influencing an expanded interorbital breadth at early stages of development. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:424–435, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

利用免疫抑制小鼠模型检测真菌病毒对黄曲霉菌致病力影响

【目的】构建用于比较黄曲霉（Aspergillus flavus,A. flavus）菌株之间致病力差异的小鼠感染模型,并利用该模型评价真菌病毒AfPV1对宿主A. flavus致病力的影响。【方法】用不同浓度环磷酰胺腹腔注射Institute of Cancer Research （ICR）小鼠,根据白细胞的数量判断小鼠免疫抑制程度;通过滴鼻和尾静脉两种感染方法接种不同浓度的A. flavus孢子量,统计14 d以内小鼠的死亡率,确定A. flavus最佳的孢子接种量;通过小鼠组织的菌落负荷量以及肺部组织的病理观察,确定A. flavus感染是否成功;最后利用该小鼠模型评价真菌病毒AfPV1对寄主A. flavus致病力的影响。【结果】腹腔注射环磷酰胺的浓度为250 mg/kg时,能够达到免疫抑制水平;小鼠组织真菌负荷和病理组织切片观察显示A. flavus成功感染接种的ICR小鼠组织;在滴鼻接种模型中,A. flavus的孢子接种量为40μL（1×10⁶CFU/mL）时比较合适评价A. flavus菌株之间的差异;在尾静脉接种的模型中,A. flavus的孢子...     

A newly-developed metal artifact reduction algorithm improves the visibility of oral cavity lesions on 320-MDCT volume scans

PurposeTo investigate whether a newly-developed single-energy metal artifact reduction (SEMAR) algorithm applied to images acquired on a 320-MDCT volume scanner reduces image artifacts from dental metal.MethodsWe inserted the lower right teeth covered with a dental metal alloy and crown in a skull phantom and performed single-volume scanning on a second-generation 320-MDCT scanner. A 12-mm diameter spherical lesion was placed either close to or far from the dental metal. The tube voltage and current were 120 kVp and 80 or 155 mA, respectively. Images were reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) or iterative reconstruction (IR), with or without SEMAR. We calculated the signal-to-artifact ratios (SAR) to quantify the visibility of the lesion. Two radiologists inspected 96 images (48 with lesion and 48 without) for the presence or absence of the lesion using a 5-point ordinal scale (1 = definitely absent to 5 = definitely present).ResultsOn images reconstructed with FPB and IR with SEMAR, streak artifacts from the dental metal were reduced substantially compared to images without SEMAR. At 155 mA with the lesion near the dental metal, the SARs were better on FBP and IR images (FBP: 1.7 and 0.5 with and without SEMAR, respectively; IR: 1.6 and 0.9 with and without SEMAR, respectively). The observer visual scores improved with SEMAR (FBP: 4.2 and 3.2 with and without SEMAR, respectively; IR: 4.2 and 3.0).ConclusionThe SEMAR algorithm reduces dental metal artifacts and improves lesion detectability and image quality in patients with oral cavity lesions.