大熊猫（Ailuropoda melanoleuca）生境选择研究进展

在回顾大熊猫生境选择研究历史的基础上,总结了大熊猫生境选择的考察因子、研究方法,概括了大熊猫对对觅食条件、隐蔽条件和气候条件的选择机制,并探讨了大熊猫生境选择的灵活性及大熊猫和与其同域分布的动物种的共存机制。作者认为,野外调查误差大、研究尺度单一等是目前大熊猫生境选择研究中存在的主要问题,应用目前较流行的已被证明比较优良的资源选择函数法、DNA指纹技术、无线电遥测、红外线自动感应照相系统、GIS与遥感成像等先进技术,并融合景观生态学理论,从较大尺度空间来研究大熊猫的生境选择,应是今后的发展方向。     

Sound the alarm: A meta‐analysis on the effect of aquatic noise on fish behavior and physiology

The aquatic environment is increasingly bombarded by a wide variety of noise pollutants whose range and intensity are increasing with each passing decade. Yet, little is known about how aquatic noise affects marine communities. To determine the implications that changes to the soundscape may have on fishes, a meta‐analysis was conducted focusing on the ramifications of noise on fish behavior and physiology. Our meta‐analysis identified 42 studies that produced 2,354 data points, which in turn indicated that anthropogenic noise negatively affects fish behavior and physiology. The most predominate responses occurred within foraging ability, predation risk, and reproductive success. Additionally, anthropogenic noise was shown to increase the hearing thresholds and cortisol levels of numerous species while tones, biological, and environmental noise were most likely to affect complex movements and swimming abilities. These findings suggest that the majority of fish species are sensitive to changes in the aquatic soundscape, and depending on the noise source, species responses may have extreme and negative fitness consequences. As such, this global synthesis should serve as a warning of the potentially dire consequences facing marine ecosystems if alterations to aquatic soundscapes continue on their current trajectory.     

CRISPR/Cas技术及其在发酵菌株上的应用

发酵菌株的改良在发酵工业生产上通常是一项非常重要的内容,而传统的驯化模式周期长、效率低、稳定性差且成本高,很难满足工业化快速生产的要求。规律成簇间隔短回文重复Cas(Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/Cas,CRISPR/Cas)是细菌及古生菌中的一种适应性免疫系统,在此系统上改进的基因编辑技术能实行RNA导向的DNA精准编辑。因而利用CRISPR/Cas基因编辑技术对菌株的快速构建和优化,是一条快速获得高产菌株的新途径。本文综述了CRISPR/Cas系统组成、工作原理、分类以及该技术在发酵菌株上的应用研究进展,并探索了该技术存在的问题以及目前的解决办法,最后对CRISPR/Cas技术在发酵工程上的潜力进行了展望。     

Genomics of local adaptation with gene flow

Gene flow is a fundamental evolutionary force in adaptation that is especially important to understand as humans are rapidly changing both the natural environment and natural levels of gene flow. Theory proposes a multifaceted role for gene flow in adaptation, but it focuses mainly on the disruptive effect that gene flow has on adaptation when selection is not strong enough to prevent the loss of locally adapted alleles. The role of gene flow in adaptation is now better understood due to the recent development of both genomic models of adaptive evolution and genomic techniques, which both point to the importance of genetic architecture in the origin and maintenance of adaptation with gene flow. In this review, we discuss three main topics on the genomics of adaptation with gene flow. First, we investigate selection on migration and gene flow. Second, we discuss the three potential sources of adaptive variation in relation to the role of gene flow in the origin of adaptation. Third, we explain how local adaptation is maintained despite gene flow: we provide a synthesis of recent genomic models of adaptation, discuss the genomic mechanisms and review empirical studies on the genomics of adaptation with gene flow. Despite predictions on the disruptive effect of gene flow in adaptation, an increasing number of studies show that gene flow can promote adaptation, that local adaptations can be maintained despite high gene flow, and that genetic architecture plays a fundamental role in the origin and maintenance of local adaptation with gene flow.     

Equine Welfare in England and Wales: Exploration of Stakeholders' Understanding

Investigating how those responsible for the care of nonhuman animals understand the concept of animal welfare is important for animal welfare improvement. In-depth interviews with 31 equine stakeholders were used to explore their perceptions and understanding of welfare. The results showed the stakeholders understood the concept of welfare in 4 ways. Firstly, welfare was understood in terms of the provision of resources—for example, food. Secondly, a “horse-centered” understanding of welfare was articulated; this understanding included the horses' mental state and was linked to natural behavior. Thirdly, the word welfare had negative connotations, and for some, good welfare was achieved through avoidance of negative states. Finally, interviewees discussed incidents that occurred in their own familiar contexts but suggested that these were not welfare problems. Evidence indicated that the ways in which equine stakeholders understood the concept of welfare might have been acting as a barrier to the alleviation of some equine welfare problems. There is a need for strategies aimed at improving equine welfare to consider stakeholder constructs of welfare and the ways in which these constructs are generated and acted upon.     

Food processing by high hydrostatic pressure

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) process, as a nonthermal process, can be used to inactivate microbes while minimizing chemical reactions in food. In this regard, a HHP level of 100 MPa (986.9 atm/1019.7 kgf/cm²) and more is applied to food. Conventional thermal process damages food components relating color, flavor, and nutrition via enhanced chemical reactions. However, HHP process minimizes the damages and inactivates microbes toward processing high quality safe foods. The first commercial HHP-processed foods were launched in 1990 as fruit products such as jams, and then some other products have been commercialized: retort rice products (enhanced water impregnation), cooked hams and sausages (shelf life extension), soy sauce with minimized salt (short-time fermentation owing to enhanced enzymatic reactions), and beverages (shelf life extension). The characteristics of HHP food processing are reviewed from viewpoints of nonthermal process, history, research and development, physical and biochemical changes, and processing equipment.     

Clinical implications of sperm DNA damage in IVF and ICSI: updated systematic review and meta-analysis

The clinical effect of sperm DNA damage in assisted reproduction has been a controversial topic during recent decades, leading to a variety of clinical practice recommendations. While the latest European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) position report concluded that DNA damage negatively affects assisted reproduction outcomes, the Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) does not recommend the routine testing of DNA damage for in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Herein, our aim was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating whether sperm DNA damage affects clinical outcomes in IVF and ICSI, in order to contribute objectively to a consistent clinical recommendation. A comprehensive systematic search was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines from the earliest available online indexing year until March 2020, using the MEDLINE-PubMed and EMBASE databases. We included studies analysing IVF and/or ICSI treatments performed in infertile couples in which sperm DNA damage was well defined and assessed. Studies also had to include information about pregnancy, implantation or live birth rates as primary outcomes. The NHLBI-NIH quality assessment tool was used to assess the quality of each study. Meta-analyses were conducted using the Mantel–Haenszel method with random-effects models to evaluate the Risk Ratio (RR) between high-DNA-damage and control groups, taking into account the 95% confidence intervals. Heterogeneity among studies was evaluated using the I² statistic. We also conducted sensitivity analyses and post-hoc subgroup analyses according to different DNA fragmentation assessment techniques. We identified 78 articles that met our inclusion and quality criteria and were included in the qualitative analysis, representing a total of 25639 IVF/ICSI cycles. Of these, 32 articles had sufficient data to be included in the meta-analysis, comprising 12380 IVF/ICSI cycles. Meta-analysis revealed that, considering IVF and ICSI results together, implantation rate (RR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.61–0.91; I² = 69) and pregnancy rate (RR = 0.83; 0.73–0.94; I² = 58) are negatively influenced by sperm DNA damage, although after adjustment for publication bias the relationship for pregnancy rate was no longer significant. The results showed a non-significant but detrimental tendency (RR = 0.78; 0.58–1.06; I² = 72) on live birth rate. Meta-analysis also showed that IVF outcomes are negatively influenced by sperm DNA damage, with a statistically significant impact on implantation (RR = 0.68; 0.52–0.89; I² = 50) and pregnancy rates (RR = 0.72; 0.55–0.95; I² = 72), although the latter was no longer significant after correction for publication bias. While it did not quite meet our threshold for significance, a negative trend was also observed for live birth rate (RR = 0.48; 0.22–1.02; I² = 79). In the case of ICSI, non-significant trends were observed for implantation (RR = 0.79; 0.60–1.04; I² = 72) or pregnancy rates (RR = 0.89; 0.78–1.02; I² = 44), and live birth rate (RR = 0.92; 0.67–1.27; I² = 70). The current review provides the largest evidence to date supporting a negative association between sperm DNA damage and conventional IVF treatments, significantly reducing implantation and pregnancy rates. The routine use of sperm DNA testing is therefore justified, since it may help improve the outcomes of IVF treatments and/or allow a given couple to be advised on the most suitable treatment. Further well-designed controlled studies on a larger number of patients are required to allow us to reach more precise conclusions, especially in the case of ICSI treatments.     

大别山野生川榛坚果主要性状分析及评价

本研究以大别山地区96份川榛种质资源为基础材料,采用概率分级和因子分析的方法,评价了川榛坚果16项数量性状和9项质量性状指标。结果表明:川榛坚果数量性状的变异较为丰富,变异幅度在5.49%~111.18%,其中与产量直接相关的壳仁间隙(111.18%)、果仁质量(32.61%)、坚果质量(32.22%)、出仁率(26.60%)及壳腰厚度(25.46%)性状变异较大。经K-S检验表明,供试性状除了果仁形状指数(P=0.007)和壳仁间隙(P=0.003)2项指标外,其他14项性状指标均符合正态分布。因子分析法提取了坚果大小因素、坚果出仁率因素及坚果饱满度因素,初步构建川榛坚果性状综合评价指标。上述研究为川榛坚果性状的评价、描述和质量等级的建立提供参考依据。     

A brief review of coarse-grained and other computational studies of molecularly imprinted polymers

Molecular imprinting is an established method for the creation of artificial recognition sites in synthetic materials through polymerization and cross-linking in the presence of template molecules. Removal of the templates leaves cavities that are complementary to the template molecules in size, shape, and functionality. In recent years, various theoretical and computational models have been developed as tools to aid in the design of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) or to provide insight into the features that determine MIP performance. These studies can be grouped into two general approaches-screening for possible functional monomers for particular templates and macromolecular models focusing on the structural characterization of the imprinted material. In this review, we pay special attention to coarse-grained models that characterize the functional heterogeneity in imprinted pores, but also cover recent advances in atomistic and first principle studies. We offer a critical assessment of the potential impact of the various models towards improving the state-of-the-art of molecular imprinting.     

钩藤属植物中吲哚生物碱的研究进展

本文对钩藤属植物中吲哚生物碱类成分的植物来源、骨架结构、波谱学特征及生物活性研究进展进行了综述,希望为药理学、天然药物化学、中药化学等领域的研究者提供参考。