The Effects of Visual Object Size in The Depth Perception in KM Mouse

Whether mice perceive the depth of space dependent on the visual size of object targets was explored when visual cues such as perspective and partial occlusion in space were excluded. A mouse was placed on a platform the height of which is adjustable. The platform located inside a box in which all other walls were dark exception its bottom through that light was projected as a sole visual cue. The visual object cue was composed of 4x4 grids to allow a mouse estimating the distance of the platform relative to the grids. Three sizes of grids reduced in a proportion of 2/3 and seven distances with an equal interval between the platform and the grids at the bottom were applied in the experiments. The duration of a mouse staying on the platform at each height was recorded when the different sizes of the grids were presented randomly to test whether the Judgment of the mouse for the depth of the platform from the bottom was affected by the size information of the visual target. The results from all conditions of three object sizes show that time of mice staying on the platform became longer with the increase in height. In distance of 20 similar to 30 cm, the mice did not use the size information of a target to judge the depth, while mainly used the information of binocular disparity. In distance less than 20 cm or more than 30 cm, however, especially in much higher distance 50 cm, 60 cm and 70 cm, the mice were able to use the size information to do so in order to compensate the lack of binocular disparity information from both eyes. Because the mice have only 1/3 of the visual field that is binocular. This behavioral paradigm established in the current study is a useful model and can be applied to the experiments using transgenic mouse as an animal model to investigate the relationships between behaviors and gene functions.

富铬酵母对实验性糖尿病小鼠模型的治疗

目的：三价铬作为葡萄糖耐量因子的有效活性成分，具有改善糖尿病人的糖代谢和脂代谢的作用，因此补充三价铬是糖尿病治疗中的有效的营养措施，富铬酵母是目前向人体提供三价铬的有效途径，并且葡萄糖耐量因子可以提高靶组织对胰岛素的敏感性而不促进胰腺的胰岛素分泌，为治疗糖尿病提供了一种新方法。 方法：（1）取昆明种小鼠，分对照与实验组，适应性喂养后实验组小鼠按40mg/kg体重注射STZ，对照组注射相应体积柠檬酸缓冲液,连续注射5天，3天后测血糖值，取血糖值≥11.1mmol/L为成功模型。成模小鼠分为两组，一组灌胃富铬酵母悬液4周，另一组灌胃蒸馏水4周，测血糖值。（2）取昆明种小鼠，分对照与实验组，适应性喂养后实验组小鼠按200mg/kg体重注射STZ，对照组注射相应体积柠檬酸缓冲液，3d后测血糖，取血糖值≥11.1mmol/L为成功模型。成模小鼠分为两组，一组灌胃富铬酵母悬液4周，另一组灌胃蒸馏水4周，测血糖值。（3）取C57BL/6J断乳小鼠，随机分为正常饲料组和高脂饲料组，分别用相应饲料喂养3 周。高脂饲料组又分为高脂饲料对照组和高脂饲料实验组。第3 周末, 高脂饲料实验组腹腔内按100mg/kg体重一次性腹腔注射STZ；正常饲料组和高脂饲料对照组腹腔注射相应体积的无菌柠檬酸缓冲液。继续喂养4 周。小鼠以第7周末血糖为准，≥11.1mmol/L为成功模型。成模小鼠分为2组，1组每日灌胃富铬酵母悬液，另一组灌服相应体积的去离子水，4周后，测血糖值。 结果：对Ⅰ型糖尿病小鼠，富铬酵母治疗2周后，治疗组血糖明显低于对照组血糖（p<0.05），4周后显著低于(p<0.01)；对Ⅱ型糖尿病小鼠，富铬酵母治疗2周后，治疗组血糖明显低于对照组血糖（p<0.05），3周后显著低于(p<0.01)；对肥胖引起的Ⅱ型糖尿病小鼠，富铬酵母治疗2周后，治疗组血糖显 著低于对照组血糖(p<0.01)，且血清胰岛素浓度之间没有明显差异。 结论：富铬酵母具有明显的降血糖作用，且不刺激胰岛素分泌

High-throughput synergy screening identifies microbial metabolites as combination agents for the treatment of fungal infections

The high mortality rate of immunocompromised patients with fungal infections and the limited availability of highly efficacious and safe agents demand the development of new antifungal therapeutics. To rapidly discover such agents, we developed a high-throughput synergy screening (HTSS) strategy for novel microbial natural products. Specifically, a microbial natural product library was screened for hits that synergize the effect of a low dosage of ketoconazole (KTC) that alone shows little detectable fungicidal activity. Through screening of approximate to 20,000 microbial extracts, 12 hits were identified with broadspectrum antifungal activity. Seven of them showed little cytotoxicity against human hepatoma cells. Fractionation of the active extracts revealed beauvericin (BEA) as the most potent component, because it dramatically synergized KTC activity against diverse fungal pathogens by a checkerboard assay. Significantly, in our immunocompromised mouse model, combinations of BEA (0.5 mg/kg) and KTC (0.5 mg/kg) prolonged survival of the host infected with Candida parapsilosis and reduced fungal colony counts in animal organs including kidneys, lungs, and brains. Such an effect was not achieved even with the high dose of 50 mg/kg KTC. These data support synergism between BEA and KTC and thereby a prospective strategy for antifungal therapy.