Geographical distribution pattern and interisland movements of Orii’s flying fox in Okinawa Islands, the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

The study of mobile animals such as flying foxes in insular habitats involves clarifying the population status on each island and determining the factors affecting movement patterns among the islands in their distributional range. We visited 25 of the Okinawa Islands and documented the number of Orii’s flying foxes Pteropus dasymallus inopinatus from August 2005 to May 2006. We also conducted a monthly road census on the main island (Okinawa-jima Island) and six adjacent islands from June 2006 to January 2007 and counted the number of fruit-bearing trees of the bats’ four main food plants. The results of classification and regression tree analysis suggested that distance from the main island was a primary factor in determining the distribution pattern and population size of this flying fox, whereas island area, number of plant species, and food availability did not directly affect population size. The number of flying foxes on each island tended to decrease with an increase in distance from the main island; no flying foxes existed on islands >30 km away from the main island. On the other hand, the results of the monthly census showed that the population size on each island fluctuated seasonally. Individuals may move between islands in response to seasonal changes in food availability. In conclusion, the distribution and abundance of Orii’s flying foxes in the Okinawa Islands may be determined by the rate of immigration/emigration, depending on each island’s distance from the main island. Seasonal changes in food availability may act as a trigger for interisland movement, but that movement may be restricted by island connectivity.     

西酞普兰联合利培酮治疗难治性抑郁症的近期临床疗效观察

目的：观察西酞普兰联合利培酮治疗难治性抑郁症的近期临床疗效,探讨提高难治性抑郁症近期临床疗效的药物治疗方案方法：选择难治性抑郁症患者86例,随机均分为对照组与观察组,对照组给予常规西酞普兰治疗,观察组给予西酞普兰联合利培酮治疗,比较两组患者治疗第2周、第4周、第6周汉密尔顿抑郁量表（HAMD）、汉密尔顿焦虑量表（HAMA）和副反应量表（TESS）评分,比较两组患者治疗第6周的临床疗效。结果：观察组近期临床疗效好于对照组,HAMD评分、HAMA评分和临床疗效比较,差异具有统计学意义（P〈0.05）;TESS评分比较,差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）。结论：药物治疗难治性抑郁症时,应选择西酞普兰联合利培酮治疗,可提高近期临床疗效,且不加重用药不良反应。     

早期康复治疗在重度颅脑损伤患者中应用的临床疗效观察

目的：观察早期康复治疗在重度颅脑损伤患者中应用的临床疗效,探讨提高重度颅脑损伤患者临床疗效的治疗方法。方法：选择重度颅脑损伤患者72例,根据康复治疗的时间不同,分为早期组与非早期组,比较两组患者康复治疗3个月后Fugl-Meyer评分、Barthel指数和神经功能恢复情况。结果：早期组患者的,临床疗效好于非早期组患者,两者在上述方面比较,差异均具有统计学意5k（P〈0．05）。结论：对于重度颅脑损伤患者,应积极施行早期康复治疗,可促进患者神经功能恢复,提高l临床疗效。     

Implications of the gene balance hypothesis for dosage compensation

Dosage compensation refers to the equal expression between the sexes despite the fact that the dosage of the X chromosome is different in males and females. In Drosophila there is a twofold upregulation of the single male X. In triple X metafemales, there is also dosage compensation, which occurs by a two-thirds downregulation. There is a concomitant reduction in expression of many autosomal genes in metafemales. The male specific lethal (MSL) complex is present on the male X chromosome. Evidence is discussed showing that the MSL complex sequesters a histone acetyltransferase to the X chromosome to mute an otherwise increased expression by diminishing the histone acetylation on the autosomes. Several lines of evidence indicate that a constraining activity occurs from the MSL complex to prevent overcompensation on the X that might otherwise occur from the high level of acetylation present. Together, the evidence suggests that dosage compensation is a modification of a regulatory inverse dosage effect that is a reflection of intrinsic gene regulatory mechanisms and that the MSL complex has evolved in reaction in order to equalize the expression on both the X and autosomes of males and females.     

A new steroidal saponin from Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum with antiinflammatory and gastroprotective effects

A new steroidal saponin was isolated from the bulbs of Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum. On the basis of chemical conversions and detailed analyses of ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra including 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques, its structure was established as 3-[(O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-[O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)]-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-β-d-galactopyranosyl)oxy]-2,6-dihydroxy-(2α,3β,5α,6β,25R)-spirostane. Results of the present study indicated that the steroidal saponin showed haemolytic effects in the in vitro assays and demonstrated antiinflammatory activity and gastroprotective property using in vivo models.     

Social rank governs the effective environment of siblings

Siblings within the same family often differ dramatically in phenotype. Some differences are attributable to initial maternal handicaps (birth or hatching asynchrony, differences in egg or neonate size and hormonal or antioxidant titre); but differences among siblings may also arise from differences in the brood-rearing environment that offspring experience. Here, I use a model system--a long-term study of nestlings in an altricial bird--to study how an initial maternal handicap, hatching asynchrony, regulates the effective social environment of siblings in the same family as measured by offspring survival. The interaction of family size and structure generated wide differences in the effective environments of siblings living in the same physical space (a nest), and reared by the same parents, in the same family structure. Social rank was the key component of the unshared environment of contemporary siblings, and was alone sufficient to generate near-maximal differences in offspring performance. Nestlings sitting side-by-side effectively lived in different worlds.     

Neutral community dynamics, the mid-domain effect and spatial patterns in species richness

The mid‐domain effect (MDE) aims to explain spatial patterns in species richness invoking only stochasticity and geometrical constraints. In this paper, we used simulations to show that its main qualitative prediction, a hump‐shaped pattern in species richness, converges to the expectation of a spatially bounded neutral model when communities are linked by short‐distance migration. As these two models can be linked under specific situations, neutral theory may provide a mechanistic population level basis for MDE. This link also allows establishing in which situations MDE patterns are more likely to be found. Also, in this situation, MDE models could be used as a first approximation to understand the role of both stochastic (ecological drift and migration) and deterministic (adaptation to environmental conditions) processes driving the spatial structure of species richness.     

Mammalian prenatal development: the influence of maternally derived molecules

Normal fetal development is dependent upon an intricate exchange between mother and embryo. Several maternal and embryonic elements can influence this intimate interaction, including genetic, environmental or epigenetic factors, and have a significant impact on embryo development. The interaction of the genetic program of both mother and embryo, within the uterine environment, can shape the development of an individual. Accumulating data from animal models indicate that prenatal events may well initiate long‐term changes in the expression of the embryo genetic program, which persist, or may only become apparent, much later in the individual's life. Also, environmental conditions during prenatal development may prompt the adoption of different developmental pathways, leading to alternative life histories. This review focuses on environmental factors, specifically maternally derived molecules, to illustrate how they can influence in utero embryonic development and, by extension, adult life.     

Origin of the phyla and cancer

Multicelled animals with specialized cells (metazoans) emerged shortly after rising oxygen levels in the seas permitted formation of collagen-family molecules. Certain unicells then formed 3-D clusters, some with disc- or ball-like shapes that happened to resemble blastulas. These became unstable beyond a certain size due to contrasting metabolic styles among their component cells. For whereas cells near their exteriors could employ oxygen respiration, cells closer to the oxygen-deprived interiors were obliged to rely on anaerobic metabolism (fermentation), a process that produces waste molecules that, if retained within cells, cause disproportionate cell growth. Unstable blastula-like forms would either disintegrate or reorganize along surfaces of relative weakness in a process that may be likened to gastrulation. Initial cell-differentiation depended on the quantity and diversity of retained fermentation products and on the pumping of molecules from cell to cell by the consequent electro-chemical gradients. In subsequent contexts, oxygen deprivation, fermentation, excess cell growth, and disintegration or reorganization of tissues produce cancer.