基于文化与政治生态学的社会生态系统演进机制研究 ——以杭州与西湖为例

科学认识社会生态系统演进机制是对其进行有效管理的重要基础。以文化与政治生态学为理论基础,提出适合杭州—西湖社会生态系统的综合研究框架,识别了杭州—西湖社会生态系统的5个演进阶段,并分析出系统演进中的3种潜在状态。自然、政治、经济以及社会驱动力是影响杭州—西湖社会生态系统的主导因素,人类行为影响整个生态系统中扰动的频率、大小和形式并改变西湖生态系统的结构与功能,进而影响西湖为城市提供生态系统服务的潜能。在不同历史时期,基于自然、社会、经济、文化等多层面的需求,西湖在不同系统状态下为城市供给不同类别和质量的生态系统服务,总体而言供给与调节服务比例逐渐下降,文化服务逐渐上升,并且后者逐步成为最主要的生态系统服务类别。杭州与西湖在长期的互馈共生中建立了社会生态系统的自适应性调节机制,其背后的生态智慧可为现代风景园林规划提供重要启示。     

Linguistic diversity of natural UNESCO world heritage sites: bridging the gap between nature and culture

UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites (WHSs) are some of the most important biophysical and geological places on Earth, yet nearly half are endangered or face considerable risks from ever-expanding human impacts. Often sites have people living within or nearby who speak different languages, many of which are unique and similarly endangered. Here we examine the co-occurrence of Natural WHSs with languages, as a key index of cultural diversity, to identify locations for integrative conservation opportunities aimed at protecting human and non-human diversity. Our analysis reveals many WHSs with high linguistic diversity, as well as endangered sites with associated indigenous languages and endangered languages that intersect Natural WHSs. Results identify Australia as the continent which has the greatest number of Natural WHSs, many co-occurring with highly endangered languages. Engaging speakers of indigenous languages often can help maintain nature, while efforts to conserve Natural WHSs can help preserve settings that enabled indigenous languages and cultures to emerge and persist.     

Gene structure,transcripts and calciotropic effects of the PTH family of peptides in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xenopus</Emphasis> and chicken

Background  

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTH-related peptide (PTHrP) belong to a family of endocrine factors that share a highly conserved N-terminal region (amino acids 1-34) and play key roles in calcium homeostasis, bone formation and skeletal development. Recently, PTH-like peptide (PTH-L) was identified in teleost fish raising questions about the evolution of these proteins. Although PTH and PTHrP have been intensively studied in mammals their function in other vertebrates is poorly documented. Amphibians and birds occupy unique phylogenetic positions, the former at the transition of aquatic to terrestrial life and the latter at the transition to homeothermy. Moreover, both organisms have characteristics indicative of a complex system in calcium regulation. This study investigated PTH family evolution in vertebrates with special emphasis on Xenopus and chicken.     

Cell separator operation within temperature ranges to minimize effects on Chinese hamster ovary cell perfusion culture

A cell retention device that provides reliable high-separation efficiency with minimal negative effects on the cell culture is essential for robust perfusion culture processes. External separation devices generally expose cells to periodic variations in temperature, most commonly temperatures below 37 degrees C, while the cells are outside the bioreactor. To examine this phenomenon, aliquots of approximately 5% of a CHO cell culture were exposed to 60 s cyclic variations of temperature simulating an acoustic separator environment. It was found that, for average exposure temperatures between 31.5 and 38.5 degrees C, there were no significant impacts on the rates of growth, glucose consumption, or t-PA production, defining an acceptable range of operating temperatures. These results were subsequently confirmed in perfusion culture experiments for average exposure temperatures between 31.6 and 38.1 degrees C. A 2(5-1) central composite factorial design experiment was then performed to systematically evaluate the effects of different operating variables on the inlet and outlet temperatures of a 10L acoustic separator. The power input, ambient temperature, as well as the perfusion and recycle flow rates significantly influenced the temperature, while the cell concentration did not. An empirical model was developed that predicted the temperature changes between the inlet and the outlet of the acoustic separator within +/-0.5 degrees C. A series of perfusion experiments determined the ranges of the significant operational settings that maintained the acoustic separator inlet and outlet temperatures within the acceptable range. For example, these objectives were always met by using the manufacturer-recommended operational settings as long as the recirculation flow rate was maintained above 15 L day(-1) and the ambient temperature was near 22 degrees C.     

Dynamic metabolic modeling for a MAB bioprocess

Production of monoclonal antibodies (MAb) for diagnostic or therapeutic applications has become an important task in the pharmaceutical industry. The efficiency of high-density reactor systems can be potentially increased by model-based design and control strategies. Therefore, a reliable kinetic model for cell metabolism is required. A systematic procedure based on metabolic modeling is used to model nutrient uptake and key product formation in a MAb bioprocess during both the growth and post-growth phases. The approach combines the key advantages of stoichiometric and kinetic models into a complete metabolic network while integrating the regulation and control of cellular activity. This modeling procedure can be easily applied to any cell line during both the cell growth and post-growth phases. Quadratic programming (QP) has been identified as a suitable method to solve the underdetermined constrained problem related to model parameter identification. The approach is illustrated for the case of murine hybridoma cells cultivated in stirred spinners.     

Unusual metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma to larynx and hypopharynx a case report

Background  

Although direct infiltration of papillary carcinoma of thyroid to larynx, trachea and esophagus is well recognized, lymphatic and vascular metastases to larynx and hypopharynx have rarely been reported.     

Scale-up and optimization of an acoustic filter for 200 L/day perfusion of a CHO cell culture

Acoustic cell retention devices have provided a practical alternative for up to 50 L/day perfusion cultures but further scale-up has been limited. A novel temperature-controlled and larger-scale acoustic separator was evaluated at up to 400 L/day for a 10(7) CHO cell/mL perfusion culture using a 100-L bioreactor that produced up to 34 g/day recombinant protein. The increased active volume of this scaled-up separator was divided into four parallel compartments for improved fluid dynamics. Operational settings of the acoustic separator were optimized and the limits of robust operations explored. The performance was not influenced over wide ranges of duty cycle stop and run times. The maximum performance of 96% separation efficiency at 200 L/day was obtained by setting the separator temperature to 35.1 degrees C, the recirculation rate to three times the harvest rate, and the power to 90 W. While there was no detectable effect on culture viability, viable cells were selectively retained, especially at 50 L/day, where there was a 5-fold higher nonviable washout efficiency. Overall, the new temperature-controlled and scaled-up separator design performed reliably in a way similar to smaller-scale acoustic separators. These results provide strong support for the feasibility of much greater scale-up of acoustic separations.     

Stress protein of cyanobacteria CP36: interaction with photoactive complexes and formation of supramolecular structures

Cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (wild-type strain and mutants Delta2 and Delta3 lacking PSII and PSI, respectively), and Synechocystis sp. BO 9201 synthesize the pigment--protein complex CP36 (CPIV-4, CP43') under iron deficiency in the medium. Accumulation of CP36 is accompanied by structural reorganizations in the photosynthetic membranes. Integrating mean times of excitation relaxation (quenching) are 2.2 nsec (CP36), 1 nsec (PSI), and 420 psec (PSII in Fm state). The energy migration between CP36 and the photosystems can be described by a model of a one-layer ring of CP36 around core-complexes. The excitation from CP36 to PSI is transferred within <10 psec. The energy transfer from CP36 to PSII occurs during 170 psec. Cells with low content of CP36 probably contain only a latent fraction of unbound to phycobilisomes PSII which is the analog of PSIIbeta of higher plants. In PSI there are four binding sites for CP36 monomers per RC. PSII can bind up to 32 molecules of CP36 per RC. Cells with a large amount of CP36 contain monomer form of PSII core-complex which can bind eight tetramers of CP36 (8 binding sites). In conditions of iron deficiency only one monomer of a dimer PSII core-complex is destroyed and released chlorophyll is accumulated in CP36. Accumulation of CP36 in A. nidulans cells can be accompanied by membrane stacking which is similar to the stacking in chlorophyll b-containing organisms. The stacking can occur in the region of localization of PSII latent fraction bound to CP36. The membrane stacking shields PSII stromal surfaces from the aqueous phase for activation of electron transfer on the acceptor side of PSII.     

Hip joint replacement surgery for idiopathic osteoarthritis aggregates in families

In order to determine whether there is a genetic component to hip or knee joint failure due to idiopathic osteoarthritis (OA), we invited patients (probands) undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty for management of idiopathic OA to provide detailed family histories regarding the prevalence of idiopathic OA requiring joint replacement in their siblings. We also invited their spouses to provide detailed family histories about their siblings to serve as a control group. In the probands, we confirmed the diagnosis of idiopathic OA using American College of Rheumatology criteria. The cohorts included the siblings of 635 probands undergoing total hip replacement, the siblings of 486 probands undergoing total knee replacement, and the siblings of 787 spouses. We compared the prevalence of arthroplasty for idiopathic OA among the siblings of the probands with that among the siblings of the spouses, and we used logistic regression to identify independent risk factors for hip and knee arthroplasty in the siblings. Familial aggregation for hip arthroplasty, but not for knee arthroplasty, was observed after controlling for age and sex, suggesting a genetic contribution to end-stage hip OA but not to end-stage knee OA. We conclude that attempts to identify genes that predispose to idiopathic OA resulting in joint failure are more likely to be successful in patients with hip OA than in those with knee OA.