Stimulated activity mediates phase shifts in the hamster circadian clock induced by dark pulses or benzodiazepines

A number of environmental and pharmacological stimuli capable of inducing phase shifts and/or period changes in the circadian clock of mammals have now been identified. Agents that can alter circadian clocks provide a means for investigating the cellular and neural mechanisms responsible for their generation, regulation and entrainment. Two stimuli that have been used to probe the basis of circadian rhythmicity are pulses of darkness on a background of constant light and injections of short-acting benzodiazepines, such as triazolam. Surprisingly, these two very different stimuli have remarkably similar phase-shifting effects on the circadian clock of hamsters. The observation that a short-term increase in locomotor activity occurs when the circadian activity rhythm of hamsters is shifted by dark pulses or triazolam injections, coupled with the finding that activity bouts themselves are capable of shifting this rhythm, raises the possibility that dark pulses or triazolam alter the circadian clock by inducing acute hyperactivity. Here we demonstrate that the phase-advancing and phase-delaying effects of dark pulses or triazolam on the circadian activity rhythm can be totally suppressed by immobilization of the animals during treatment. These results indicate that behavioural events mediate the phase-shifting effects of both dark pulses and triazolam on the circadian activity rhythm and question present hypotheses regarding the pathways by which light-dark information and pharmacological agents influence circadian pacemakers.     

A benzodiazepine used in the treatment of insomnia phase-shifts the mammalian circadian clock

Between 5 and 20% of the adult population in Western countries suffer from insufficient and/or unsatisfying sleep, often associated with certain psychiatric disorders or with certain types of professional activities (for example, shift workers) and travel schedules (for example, jet lag). The benzodiazepines are at present the drug treatment of choice for the management of anxiety and stress-related conditions as well as insomnia. Benzodiazepines are thought to act by potentiating the action of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a widely distributed transmitter in the central nervous system. The circadian system has a key role in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle, and at least some forms of insomnia may be the result of a disorder of the circadian sleep-wake rhythm. Similarly, at least some forms of depression may also involve disruption of normal circadian rhythmicity. A central pacemaker for the generation of many circadian rhythms in mammals, including the sleep-wake cycle, appears to be located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and recent research indicates that both cell bodies and axons containing GABA are present within the bilaterally paired suprachiasmatic nuclei. These findings raise the possibility that the benzodiazepines, commonly prescribed for sleep and mental disorders, may have an effect on the central circadian pacemaker. Here we report that the acute administration of triazolam, a short-acting benzodiazepine commonly prescribed for the treatment of insomnia, induces a phase-shift in the circadian rhythm of locomotor activity in golden hamsters. This suggests a role for GABA-containing neurones in the mammalian circadian system.     

The Drosophila clock gene per affects intercellular junctional communication

The per locus of Drosophila has been implicated in the control of behavioural rhythms. In fruitfly embryos and larvae per is expressed in salivary glands. Per mutations have striking effects on intercellular communication in salivary glands: gap junction channels are modulated so that their conductance varies inversely with the period of behavioural rhythms in the mutants. A similar effect on junctional communication in the nervous system may explain how per influences behavioural rhythms.     

CONSTANS mediates between the circadian clock and the control of flowering in Arabidopsis

Flowering is often triggered by exposing plants to appropriate day lengths. This response requires an endogenous timer called the circadian clock to measure the duration of the day or night. This timer also controls daily rhythms in gene expression and behavioural patterns such as leaf movements. Several Arabidopsis mutations affect both circadian processes and flowering time; but how the effect of these mutations on the circadian clock is related to their influence on flowering remains unknown. Here we show that expression of CONSTANS (CO), a gene that accelerates flowering in response to long days, is modulated by the circadian clock and day length. Expression of a CO target gene, called FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), is restricted to a similar time of day as expression of CO. Three mutations that affect circadian rhythms and flowering time alter CO and FT expression in ways that are consistent with their effects on flowering. In addition, the late flowering phenotype of such mutants is corrected by overexpressing CO. Thus, CO acts between the circadian clock and the control of flowering, suggesting mechanisms by which day length regulates flowering time.     

An inducible promoter fused to the period gene in Drosophila conditionally rescues adult per-mutant arrhythmicity

The period (per) gene of Drosophila melanogaster is involved in the expression of circadian rhythms of locomotor activity in adult flies. Molecular studies of per (reviewed in ref. 2) have shown that the transcribed and translated products of this gene are present primarily at the embryonic, pupal and adult stages. Here we describe experiments with arrhythmic per mutants bearing an inducible form of this gene which indicate that strongly rhythmic adult behaviour can be obtained only if per expression is induced in the adult, independent of its history of expression earlier in development. Thus per-mutant locomotor-activity phenotypes seem not to result from abnormalities in the development of neural structures or in physiological processes that may be required at pre-adult stages for the expression of this circadian rhythm. Moreover, the action of per after light:dark cycle entrainment seems to be sufficient for activity rhythms to be exhibited in constant darkness; this suggests further that the per product is required only during the time that the rhythmic behaviour is being manifested. Our strategy used a heat-shock gene promotor fused to per coding sequences to obtain conditional gene expression. Heat-shock promoter-driven genes have previously been used to study the mode of action and tissue specificity of a variety of Drosophila genes; our experiments on circadian rhythms demonstrate the use of such gene constructions for the temporal manipulation of genes whose phenotypes, behavioural and otherwise, affect whole organisms.     

电场中的饱和蒸汽压和对第二类永动机的探讨

当纯液体系统位于均匀恒定电场中时,外场将改变分子之间的相互作用, 而使液体饱和蒸汽压降低. 对纯液体系统在有外场与无外场时的饱和蒸汽压进行了计算,并由计算结果对一个循环过程进行了讨论, 结果显示, 此循环过程似乎与第二类永动机有关.     

Attentional modulation in visual cortex depends on task timing

Paying attention to a stimulus selectively increases the ability to process it. For example, when subjects attend to a specific region of a visual scene, their sensitivity to changes at that location increases. A large number of studies describe the behavioural consequences and neurophysiological correlates of attending to spatial locations. There has, in contrast, been little study of the allocation of attention over time. Because subjects can anticipate predictable events with great temporal precision, it seems probable that they might dynamically shift their attention when performing a familiar perceptual task whose constraints changed over time. We trained monkeys to respond to a stimulus change where the probability of occurrence changed over time. Recording from area V4 of the visual cortex in these animals, we found that the modulation of neuronal responses changed according to the probability of the change occurring at that instant. Thus, we show that the attentional modulation of sensory neurons reflects a subject's anticipation of the timing of behaviourally relevant events.     

狼毒大戟对小鼠经口急性毒性试验

目的：研究狼毒大戟受试药物Ⅰ和Ⅱ急性毒性作用,并计算其半数致死量（LD50）.方法：给小鼠灌服不同剂量的狼毒大戟受试药物Ⅰ和Ⅱ,连续观察14 d,记录小鼠的急性毒性反应,以小鼠急性死亡率为指标,用改进寇氏法计算LD50.结果：灌胃给药狼毒大戟受试药物Ⅰ后部分小鼠出现中毒反应并死亡,计算LD50为2.05 g/kg,LD50的95%可信限为1.77～2.37 g/kg.死亡动物尸检,发现所有死亡小鼠均出现胃胀症状,十二指肠色黑,少数充血,其它主要脏器肉眼未见明显改变.结论：狼毒大戟有毒成分主要集中在受试药物Ⅰ中,且狼毒大戟受试药物Ⅰ属于小毒物质.     

Decisions about parental care in response to perceived paternity

Evolutionary ecologists are attempting to explain how parents make behavioural decisions about how much care to provide to their young. Theory predicts that when genetic relatedness to young is decreased by cuckoldry, for example, parents should reduce their care in favour of alternative broods that provide greater reproductive success. Experimental manipulation of perceived paternity has been used to test the theory, but such studies have generated mixed results. Some manipulations can fail to alter a parent's perceived paternity, whereas others may directly affect parental behaviour when, for instance, the manipulation involves capturing the parent. No study has demonstrated parental care adjustment in a manner uncomplicated by experimental design or life history correlates. Here I test the theory using the fact that nest-tending parental male bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) can assess their paternity using both the visual presence of parasitic cuckolder males during spawning, and olfactory cues released by newly hatched eggs. By manipulating both types of cues I show that parental males dynamically adjust their parental care, favouring broods that are apparently most closely related. These results confirm the importance of genetic relatedness in parental care decision-making.     

Vasopressin alters female sexual behaviour by acting on the brain independently of alterations in blood pressure

Subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of Arg-vasopressin (AVP) prolongs retention of a learned behaviour and elevates arterial blood pressure. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of a thousandfold lower dose of AVP than needed with s.c. injection produces the same behavioural effect, suggesting that AVP acts on the brain to control behaviour. However, as i.c.v. injection of AVP also elevates arterial blood pressure, it was suggested that AVP, and perhaps other peptides as well, influences behaviour indirectly by eliciting a peripheral response, for example blood pressure changes, rather than by acting directly on the brain. The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus, a source of vasopressin production, inhibit sexual receptivity in oestradiol-17 beta-treated ovariectomized rats during the light phase of the daily lighting cycle, leading to speculation that vasopressin might inhibit sexual behaviour. Here we report that i.c.v. injections of AVP (1, 4 or 10 ng) inhibit sexual behaviour in receptive rats. This behavioural response is prevented by i.c.v. injection of an antiserum to AVP 30 min before AVP injection. Subcutaneous injection of a high dose of AVP (1 microgram) has no behavioural effect but elevates arterial blood pressure within 30 min of administration. Intracerebroventricular injection of a behaviourally effective dose of AVP (1 ng) has no effect on blood pressure. The results provide direct evidence that AVP can alter behaviour by an action on the brain and independently of its effect on blood pressure.     

基于量测飞行参数的螺旋运动稳定性研究

为研究旋转弹飞行时的螺旋运动稳定性,以弹体坐标系下的螺旋角运动数学模型为基础,提出一种基于量测飞行参数的稳定性分析方法,推导了螺旋角运动的局部动态稳定条件.通过对某制导弹药飞行数据的仿真和分析发现:螺旋角及其变化率呈正弦曲线型周期变化,弹体在局部动态稳定时呈现出极限环形式的螺旋运动,而在局部动态不稳定时呈现出幅值增大形式的螺旋运动.结果表明,以解算出的螺旋角及其变化率为控制系统的参考依据,利用前半周期变换率的反信号,校正后半周期的螺旋角,结果显示可以将平均螺旋张角减小17.3%.     

Predator-induced behaviour shifts and natural selection in field-experimental lizard populations

The role of behaviour in evolutionary change has long been debated. On the one hand, behavioural changes may expose individuals to new selective pressures by altering the way that organisms interact with the environment, thus driving evolutionary divergence. Alternatively, behaviour can act to retard evolutionary change: by altering behavioural patterns in the face of new environmental conditions, organisms can minimize exposure to new selective pressures. This constraining influence of behaviour has been put forward as an explanation for evolutionary stasis within lineages and niche conservatism within clades. Nonetheless, the hypothesis that behavioural change prevents natural selection from operating in new environments has never been experimentally tested. We conducted a controlled and replicated experimental study of selection in entirely natural populations; we demonstrate that lizards alter their habitat use in the presence of an introduced predator, but that these behavioural shifts do not prevent patterns of natural selection from changing in experimental populations.     

A mutation in Caenorhabditis elegans that increases recombination frequency more than threefold.

In higher organisms the rate of recombination between genetic loci is presumably responsive to selective pressure. Recently, selective pressures and mutational events that influence recombination have been reviewed. Mutational sites and chromosomal rearrangements that enhance or suppress recombination frequency in specific regions are known, but general mechanisms that enhance recombination have not yet been discovered. We describe here the isolation and characterisation of a strain of the hermaphroditic nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, that has a recombination frequency at least threefold higher than that found in the wild type. In this strain, rec-1, the number of reciprocal recombination events between linked loci is increased. This is true for all pairs of linked loci studies so far. The high recombination strain behaves as if it carries a classical recessive mutation, although a second mutation exists which can alter the recessive behaviour of rec-1.     

西宁市中、青年人参加体育锻炼的现状调查

本文通过对青海省西宁市中、青年参加体育锻炼状况的调查,研究分析中、青年参加体育锻炼的动机、项目、时间、场所及主要制约因素,提出加强中、青年体育锻炼的对策措施．     

农药三氯异氰尿酸对两种蚤类的慢性毒性

进行了广谱低毒农药三氯异氰尿酸对徐州长刺蚤、滇池短腹平直蚤两种枝角类的21d慢性毒性试验.它对于短腹平直蚤以及长刺蚤的21d半致死剂量分别为0.387mg/L和0.183mg/L.结果表明,三氯异氰尿酸对于两种蚤类的母蚤的存活率、生长发育、繁殖及其F1代幼蚤的存活率等指标均有较大的影响.农药三氯异氰尿酸对于水环境的慢性影响不容忽视.     

SPF 金黄地鼠种群标准化管理与质量控制

摘要: 金黄地鼠( Golden hamster; Mesocricetus auratus) 又称叙利亚地鼠,金黄色,成年个体体质量120-150 g,染色体 22 对。目前世界各国饲养的不同品系的金黄地鼠,都是1930 年在叙利亚发现的同胞后代,由于同一祖先,遗传学上血缘相近。金黄地鼠被广泛用于微生物学,肿瘤学,内分泌学,组织移植等的研究,此外还被大量用于制造乙型脑炎疫苗和狂犬疫苗。成都公司长期使用金黄地鼠制造乙型脑炎减毒活疫苗,本公司2003 年底建立SPF 金黄地鼠核心种群, 2004 年3 月建立规模化生产种群, 13 年来累计生产SPF 金黄地鼠180 万只,供应乙脑减毒活疫苗生产150 万只,累计生产乙型脑炎减毒活疫苗2. 3 亿人份,创造产值21 亿元人民币,其中乙脑疫苗出口创汇9 000 万美元。为了长期保持SPF 金黄地鼠种群遗传稳定性和质量稳定性,我们建立了一整套标准化的饲养管理制度和质量控制体系, 10 多年来,无论是公司自检,还是送中检院国家专业实验室检测或是送国外专业实验室检测,均未检测出需要排除的病原微生物和寄生虫, 2013 年我公司的乙脑减毒活疫苗制品成功通过WHO 预认证,作为关键原材料的SPF 金黄地鼠质量也得到了WHO 检查官的认可。     

小麦taf1位点的连锁不平衡分析

利用遍布全基因组的21个SSR分子标记,对小麦雌性不育系XND126与1201、802、60个普通小麦品种(系)组成的三个品种(系)群体进行群体结构的评估,发现在三个群体中都存在群体结构.对消除群体结构后的三个亚群体中各标记的连锁不平衡值(linkage disequilibrium value)进行比较.结果表明,群体大小影响标记与雌性育性位点间的LD值.基于对小麦雌性育性taf1位点初步定位的信息.对2DS染色体上30个SSR分子标记的LD研究显示,Xgwm71、Xwmc25、Xgwm515、Xcfd36同样与原标记Xgdm35等具有较大的LD值,可能与taf1密切相关.获得这些较大LD值的标记(Xgwm71、Xwmc25等),为taf1位点的精细定位做出了充分的准备.