Immediate and chronic changes in responses of somatosensory cortex in adult flying-fox after digit amputation

The somatosensory cortex of adult mammals has been shown to have a capacity to reorganize when inputs are removed by cutting afferent nerves or amputating a part of the body. The area of cortex that would normally respond to stimulation of the missing input can become responsive to inputs from other parts of the body surface. Although a few animals have been studied with repeat recording, no attempt has been made to follow the time-course of changes at cortical loci and the immediate effects of a small amputation have not been reported. We have followed the changes in response in the primary somatosensory cortex in the flying-fox following amputation of the single exposed digit on the forelimb. Immediately after amputation, neurons in the area of cortex receiving inputs from the missing digit were not silent but responded to stimulation of adjoining regions of the digit, hand, arm and wing. In the week following amputation, the enlarged receptive fields shrank until they covered only the skin around the amputation wound. The immediate response is interpreted as a removal of inhibition and the subsequent shrinking of the field may be due to re-establishment of the inhibitory balance in the affected cortex and its inputs.     

Telemetered in vivo strain analysis of locomotor mechanics of brachiating gibbons

The slender elongated form that is characteristic of the forelimb long bones of gibbons (Hylobates) has long been attributed to their functional adaptation to habitual armswinging locomotion, although potential selective advantages of this morphology for brachiation have yet to be demonstrated. If the forces exerted on the limb skeleton during brachiation indeed differ greatly from those of other locomotor modes, then the changes in skeletal loading accompanying a shift in locomotor behaviour could favour alterations in skeletal morphology in brachiating lineages. In vivo skeletal strain patterns recorded by using radiotelemetry during brachiation indicate that the forelimb bones of the gibbon are loaded in substantial tension and show reduced bending and compression in comparison with those of other mammals. We suggest that this unique loading regime could have contributed to the evolution of the distinctive morphology of hylobatid limbs.     

一种新的复杂细胞启发下的特征提取方法

鉴于V1区复杂细胞具有提取外界刺激不变本质的能力,设计了一个提取目标图像局部不变特征的方法.该方法首先使用提出的无监督算法(PCICA),从图像中学习出类似于复杂细胞感受野的滤波器集合.然后利用这些滤波器组成的复杂细胞描述子,提取目标图像各个位置的不变特征.最后对图像特征图进行分块统计,将各区域的直方图序列作为图像的最终描述.测试结果表明,PCICA具有类似于快速独立分量分析算法(FastICA)三阶收敛的特点,从图像中学习出的滤波器集合,表现出复杂细胞感受野的拓扑结构.这些滤波器对于局部图像的微小变化并不敏感,对于检测不变特征十分有利,并在MNIST手写体数据库上取得0.84%的识别错误率.     

Long-distance intraretinal connections in birds

Electrophysiological experiments have shown in both birds and mammals that remote parts of the retina, several millimetres apart, interact at the retinal level. The anatomical basis of this is poorly understood, although in mammals some cells in the ganglion cell layer have axons that terminate in the inner plexiform layer several millimetres from the cell body. In birds, the longest previously reported intraretinal connections were from amacrine cells, extending only a few hundred microns. But we here describe very long connections that span almost the entire extent of the retina in chicks and chick embryos. The parent cell bodies are in the inner nuclear layer of the ventral half of the retina, and they project in topographical order onto the dorsal half. They do not project to the brain. They may be involved in selective switching of attention between the upper and lower parts of the visual field, at an unprecedentedly early stage of visual processing.     

A Jurassic eutherian mammal and divergence of marsupials and placentals

Placentals are the most abundant mammals that have diversified into every niche for vertebrates and dominated the world's terrestrial biotas in the Cenozoic. A critical event in mammalian history is the divergence of eutherians, the clade inclusive of all living placentals, from the metatherian-marsupial clade. Here we report the discovery of a new eutherian of 160?Myr from the Jurassic of China, which extends the first appearance of the eutherian-placental clade by about 35?Myr from the previous record, reducing and resolving a discrepancy between the previous fossil record and the molecular estimate for the placental-marsupial divergence. This mammal has scansorial forelimb features, and provides the ancestral condition for dental and other anatomical features of eutherians.     

限食程度对KM小鼠体重和能量代谢的影响

为阐明体重和能量代谢的生理调节对动物适应食物短缺的作用和意义,将成年KM小鼠按自由取食量的75%和50%随机限食四周,再重喂食四周.分别测定了摄食量、基础代谢率(BMR)和脂肪含量.限食75%和50%使BMR和消化道重量显著增加,体重、胴体重、脂肪含量显著降低;重喂食后,BMR和体重恢复到对照组水平,脂肪含量显著高于对照组.结果表明,动物通过能量代谢和体重调节以适应不同程度的食物资源短缺的应激环境,通过增加身体能量贮存以增强应对食物短缺的适应能力.     

Release of volatiles from a possible cryovolcano from near-infrared imaging of Titan

Titan is the only satellite in our Solar System with a dense atmosphere. The surface pressure is 1.5 bar (ref. 1) and, similar to the Earth, N2 is the main component of the atmosphere. Methane is the second most important component, but it is photodissociated on a timescale of 10(7) years (ref. 3). This short timescale has led to the suggestion that Titan may possess a surface or subsurface reservoir of hydrocarbons to replenish the atmosphere. Here we report near-infrared images of Titan obtained on 26 October 2004 by the Cassini spacecraft. The images show that a widespread methane ocean does not exist; subtle albedo variations instead suggest topographical variations, as would be expected for a more solid (perhaps icy) surface. We also find a circular structure approximately 30 km in diameter that does not resemble any features seen on other icy satellites. We propose that the structure is a dome formed by upwelling icy plumes that release methane into Titan's atmosphere.     

Wing bone stresses in free flying bats and the evolution of skeletal design for flight.

The primary mechanical functions of limb bones are to resist deformation, and hence provide stiff levers against which muscles can act, and to be sufficiently strong to prevent breaking under static or dynamic loads which arise from normal and accidental activities. If bones perform these functions with a minimum amount of material, the energetic costs associated with building, maintaining and transporting the skeleton will be minimized. Appropriate skeletal architecture for minimizing mass while maximizing strength depends on forces imposed on structural elements. In the evolutionary acquisition of flight in the bat lineage, the forelimb skeleton must have come to experience locomotor-forces that differed from those engendered by the terrestrial locomotion of non-flying bat relatives. Here we successfully measure in vivo strain on the wing bones of flying mammals. Our data demonstrate that torsion and shear are unique and crucial features of skeletal biomechanics during flight, and suggest that the evolution of skeletal design in bats and other flying vertebrates may be driven by the need to resist these loads.     

三维激光扫描仪技术在地形测量中的应用

利用三维激光测量技术进行山区复杂地形测量的流程与方法,实验通过使用徕卡ScanStation2型号的三维激光扫描仪对西安市白鹿原北坡进行了扫描,对扫描后的各测站数据进行基于标靶的拼接,对拼接后的点云数据进行预处理。将基于扫描仪坐标系统的点云数据转换到基于施工独立坐标系统后,使用Geomagic和cass软件绘制地形图等高线。在测区内布设一定数量检核点,扫描时在检核点上安置蓝白标靶,采用全站仪测量检核点的独立坐标与扫描仪测量的坐标进行对比来验证扫描数据的精度,得到平面坐标差值绝对值最大值为0.024 m,而高程的差值绝对值最大值为0.029 m,实验结果表明,三维激光扫描仪满足地形测量精度要求。     

Patterns of mortality and age at first reproduction in natural populations of mammals

There is great variation in the age at which females of different mammalian species first breed. Recent comparative analyses have focused on the relationship between age at first reproduction and body size, but differences in patterns of mortality experienced by natural populations are expected to have major effects on selection for age at first reproduction. Here we show that the age at which females first reproduce is strongly correlated with expectation of life at birth, after the effects of body size have been removed, within and among species of mammals living in natural populations.     

Molecular cloning of human telomeres in yeast

Telomeres are the DNA sequences found at the ends of linear chromosomes. They define the boundaries of the genetical and physical maps of such chromosomes and so are particularly important for the complete mapping of large genomes that is now being attempted. Telomeres have been intensively studied in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in ciliated protozoa: in these organisms the telomeric DNA consists of arrays of tandemly repeated short sequences in which one strand is guanosine-rich and oriented 5' to 3' towards the chromosome end. The conservation of these structural features is reflected in the observation that telomeric DNA from a variety of protozoa will function as telomeres on artificial linear mini-chromosomes in yeast. Tandem arrays of the sequence TTAGGG have been identified at the telomeres of humans and other mammals and also of trypanosomes. This indicates that the structural features of telomeres are conserved between higher and lower eukaryotes and implies that human telomeric DNA could function in yeast. I have used this idea to develop a strategy to isolate a specific human telomere as a molecular clone in yeast and have devised a simple and effective way of cloning other human telomeres and their associated sequences.     

AERMOD模型在大气二氧化硫空间分布格局研究中的应用

整合闽清县的气象、地形、污染源等数据,综合运用分数偏差与参数估计最优化方法研究反照率、波文比及地表粗糙度3个地表参数设置对AERMOD模式预测结果的影响程度及趋势,并在地表参数率定的基础上建立县域尺度上的AERMOD模型.此外利用AERMOD模型模拟闽清县的SO_2污染现状并作出SO_2空间分布图,结合闽清县大气污染防治规划提出煤改天然气措施并进行情景模拟,以期为模型运用、大气环境评价及污染防控提供一定参考.     

云南梁河440只小兽体表蚤类和吸虱昆虫寄生状况初步分析

目的:调查分析云南梁河县小兽体表蚤类和吸虱昆虫的寄生状况。方法:用鼠笼、鼠夹加食饵的方法诱捕小兽,用全捕法采集诱捕小兽体表的所有蚤类和吸虱,按"一兽一瓶"置于70%酒精内保存和固定。每只昆虫标本经逐级酒精脱水、透明和干燥后制作成玻片标本,于显微镜下逐一鉴定到种。群落基本结构用物种丰富度(S)、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H′)、均匀度(J′)及生态优势度指数(C′)来描述;空间分布格局用扩散系数CI、指数(I)、Cassie指数(CA)及聚块指数(m*/m)进行测定。结果:从所捕获的啮齿目、食虫目7科10属20种440只小兽体表,共采集到蚤类昆虫263只,隶属5科8属10种,方叶栉眼蚤、偏远古蚤、印鼠客蚤和近端远棒蚤二刺亚种为优势种;吸虱昆虫1 316只,隶属3科3属6种,太平洋甲胁虱、缺齿甲胁虱和社鼠甲胁虱为优势种。优势蚤种和优势虱种在其对应的主要宿主体表的寄生表现为聚集型分布。结论:本文调查的440只小兽体表蚤类和吸虱昆虫种类组成比较简单,物种多样性较低,宿主选择特异性吸虱高于蚤类,优势种类在其对应的主要宿主体表的寄生均表现为聚集型分布。     

Adaptive radiation of multituberculate mammals before the extinction of dinosaurs

The Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction approximately 66 million years ago is conventionally thought to have been a turning point in mammalian evolution. Prior to that event and for the first two-thirds of their evolutionary history, mammals were mostly confined to roles as generalized, small-bodied, nocturnal insectivores, presumably under selection pressures from dinosaurs. Release from these pressures, by extinction of non-avian dinosaurs at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, triggered ecological diversification of mammals. Although recent individual fossil discoveries have shown that some mammalian lineages diversified ecologically during the Mesozoic era, comprehensive ecological analyses of mammalian groups crossing the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary are lacking. Such analyses are needed because diversification analyses of living taxa allow only indirect inferences of past ecosystems. Here we show that in arguably the most evolutionarily successful clade of Mesozoic mammals, the Multituberculata, an adaptive radiation began at least 20 million years before the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and continued across the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. Disparity in dental complexity, which relates to the range of diets, rose sharply in step with generic richness and disparity in body size. Moreover, maximum dental complexity and body size demonstrate an adaptive shift towards increased herbivory. This dietary expansion tracked the ecological rise of angiosperms and suggests that the resources that were available to multituberculates were relatively unaffected by the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. Taken together, our results indicate that mammals were able to take advantage of new ecological opportunities in the Mesozoic and that at least some of these opportunities persisted through the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. Similar broad-scale ecomorphological inventories of other radiations may help to constrain the possible causes of mass extinctions.     

Separation of the genetic loci for the H-Y antigen and for testis determination on human Y chromosome

The mammalian Y chromosome encodes a testis-determining factor (termed TDF in the human), a master regulator of sex differentiation. Embryos with a Y chromosome develop testes and become males whereas embryos lacking a Y chromosome develop ovaries and become females. Expression of H-Y, a minor histocompatibility antigen, may also be controlled by a gene on the Y chromosome, and it has been proposed that this antigen is the testis-determining factor. We have tested the postulated identity of H-Y and TDF in the human. H-Y typing with T cells was carried out on a series of sex-reversed humans (XX males and XY females), each shown by DNA hybridization to carry part but not all of the Y chromosome. This deletion analysis maps the gene for H-Y to the long arm or centromeric region of the human Y chromosome, far from the TDF locus, which maps to the distal short arm.     

c-Myc regulates mammalian body size by controlling cell number but not cell size.

Overexpression of the proto-oncogene c-myc has been implicated in the genesis of diverse human tumours. c-Myc seems to regulate diverse biological processes, but its role in tumorigenesis and normal physiology remains enigmatic. Here we report the generation of an allelic series of mice in which c-myc expression is incrementally reduced to zero. Fibroblasts from these mice show reduced proliferation and after complete loss of c-Myc function they exit the cell cycle. We show that Myc activity is not needed for cellular growth but does determine the percentage of activated T cells that re-enter the cell cycle. In vivo, reduction of c-Myc levels results in reduced body mass owing to multiorgan hypoplasia, in contrast to Drosophila c-myc mutants, which are smaller as a result of hypotrophy. We find that c-myc substitutes for c-myc in fibroblasts, indicating they have similar biological activities. This suggests there may be fundamental differences in the mechanisms by which mammals and insects control body size. We propose that in mammals c-Myc controls the decision to divide or not to divide and thereby functions as a crucial mediator of signals that determine organ and body size.     

Clues to the functions of mammalian sleep

The functions of mammalian sleep remain unclear. Most theories suggest a role for non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in energy conservation and in nervous system recuperation. Theories of REM sleep have suggested a role for this state in periodic brain activation during sleep, in localized recuperative processes and in emotional regulation. Across mammals, the amount and nature of sleep are correlated with age, body size and ecological variables, such as whether the animals live in a terrestrial or an aquatic environment, their diet and the safety of their sleeping site. Sleep may be an efficient time for the completion of a number of functions, but variations in sleep expression indicate that these functions may differ across species.     

气候暖化对台湾水文环境的冲击

自十九世纪中期起就开始发展的全球暖化现象,已使北半球平均气温上升的幅度接近摄氏一度.而伴随全球暖化的结果之一就是全球气候及水文循环正在急遽的改变,各地降雨的强度及分布型态因应气温的上升及气候极端变化而有明显的变化.以台湾地区为例,回顾百年来台湾降雨型态的变化趋势,讨论气候暖化对近五十年来台湾水文环境(地表水、地下水)所造成的影响.其中最显著的趋势为:南北降雨的差异性扩大,降雨型态朝极端化发展.这些变化趋势对未来水资源的调配与运用产生不利的影响.     

cAMP signalling in mushroom bodies modulates temperature preference behaviour in Drosophila

Homoiotherms, for example mammals, regulate their body temperature with physiological responses such as a change of metabolic rate and sweating. In contrast, the body temperature of poikilotherms, for example Drosophila, is the result of heat exchange with the surrounding environment as a result of the large ratio of surface area to volume of their bodies. Accordingly, these animals must instinctively move to places with an environmental temperature as close as possible to their genetically determined desired temperature. The temperature that Drosophila instinctively prefers has a function equivalent to the 'set point' temperature in mammals. Although various temperature-gated TRP channels have been discovered, molecular and cellular components in Drosophila brain responsible for determining the desired temperature remain unknown. We identified these components by performing a large-scale genetic screen of temperature preference behaviour (TPB) in Drosophila. In parallel, we mapped areas of the Drosophila brain controlling TPB by targeted inactivation of neurons with tetanus toxin and a potassium channel (Kir2.1) driven with various brain-specific GAL4s. Here we show that mushroom bodies (MBs) and the cyclic AMP-cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (cAMP-PKA) pathway are essential for controlling TPB. Furthermore, targeted expression of cAMP-PKA pathway components in only the MB was sufficient to rescue abnormal TPB of the corresponding mutants. Preferred temperatures were affected by the level of cAMP and PKA activity in the MBs in various PKA pathway mutants.