Perfil dos HPA prioritários na exaustão de veículo a diesel, no combustível diesel utilizado durante os ensaios de emissão veicular e no óleo lubrificante do motor

As concentrações na exaustão e os fatores de emissão dos hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos (HPA) prioritários de um veículo a diesel e as suas respectivas concentrações no diesel usado durante os ensaios de emissão veicular foram determinados com a finalidade de estimar a contribuição dos HPA provenientes do combustível nas emissões. Os produtos da combustão foram coletados diretamente nas emissões brutas do escapamento, utilizando um sistema de amostragem a volume constante sem diluição dos gases da exaustão. Os HPA associados ao MP foram amostrados de forma estratificada, utilizando um impactador em cascata MOUDI e filtros de fibra de vidro como substratos, e os HPA em fase gasosa foram amostrados usando cartuchos de amberlite XAD-2. A concentração dos HPA no óleo lubrificante do motor também foi monitorada ao longo do tempo até a sua troca após 12.000 km de uso. Após a extração e tratamento das amostras, a identificação e quantificação dos HPA foram realizadas, utilizando cromatografia de fase gasosa acoplada à espectrometria de massas (CG-EM) com injetor de grande volume de vaporização com a temperatura programável (PTV-LVI). Cinco variáveis do PTV-LVI foram otimizadas, utilizando planejamento de experimentos, o que permitiu obter limites de detecção menores do que 2,0 g L-1. Somente 7 dos 16 HPA prioritários foram identificados na exaustão: NAP, ACY, ACE, FLU, FEN, FLT e PYR. Os ensaios de emissão veicular foram realizados com o veículo em modo estacionário, sem aplicação de carga e com baixa velocidade de rotação do motor (1500 rpm), utilizando um diesel com menor teor de enxofre (10 mg kg-1) e com 5% v/v de biodiesel. Esses fatores possivelmente contribuíram para reduzir as emissões dos outros 9 HPA a valores abaixo dos limites de detecção do método desenvolvido. Aproximadamente 80% da massa dos HPA totais associados ao MP estavam presentes em partículas com tamanho entre 1,0 m e 56 nm, e aproximadamente 4,5% estavam presentes em partículas menores do que 56 nm. Partículas menores que 2,5 m são facilmente inaladas e depositadas no trato respiratório e na região alveolar, justificando a preocupação com relação às emissões de HPA associados a partículas provenientes da exaustão veicular de motores a diesel. Somente 5 dos 7 HPA identificados na exaustão foram detectados no diesel: NAP, ACY, FLU, FEN e PYR. A razão entre os fatores de emissão (g L-1diesel) dos HPA na exaustão e suas respectivas concentrações do diesel (g L-1) variaram de 0,01 0,02 a 0,05 0,029, dependendo do HPA. Esses valores indicam que pelo menos 95 a 99% dos HPA identificados no diesel foram destruídos e/ou transformados em outros compostos durante a combustão, e/ou foram retidos no reservatório do óleo lubrificante. Por outro lado, os HPA que tiveram maiores concentrações no diesel também apresentaram maiores fatores de emissão, o que sugere que os HPA provenientes do diesel possuem uma contribuição significativa para as emissões dos HPA totais. O perfil dos HPA prioritários no óleo lubrificante mostrou-se semelhante ao perfil dos HPA no diesel e nas emissões totais, onde o NAP, FEN e PYR foram os HPA majoritários

Quantificação e correlação do volume pulmonar de pacientes com acromegalia por meio de tomografia computadorizada e testes de função pulmonar

A acromegalia é uma doença multissistêmica decorrente da hipersecreção do hormônio do crescimento (GH) e do fator de crescimento semelhante à insulina tipo I (IGF-I), o que resulta no crescimento somático exagerado e alterações nas proporções corporais, estando associada à considerável aumento da morbidade e mortalidade. Estima-se ainda que os problemas respiratórios contribuam com 25% de todas as mortes encontradas neste grupo de pacientes. Diferenças metodológicas entre os diversos estudos levaram ao surgimento de dados inconsistentes sobre o papel do crescimento alveolar no desenvolvimento do aumento do volume pulmonar em acromegálicos, o que reforça a importância de novos trabalhos e outras abordagens sobre o tema. Ao mesmo tempo, com o desenvolvimento tecnológico, os métodos de imagem propostos em alguns estudos foram substituídos por outros mais sensíveis como a tomografia computadorizada (TC) multislice (Q-MDCT) que garante adequada mensuração do volume pulmonar, o que proporciona diferentes tipos de comparação e análise e, ainda, permite o estudo anatômico do tórax e vias pulmonares. Nossos objetivos foram identificar os principais achados da tomografia computadorizada (TC) em pacientes acromegálicos, determinar por meio da TC de tórax o volume pulmonar e comparar os achados da densitometria pulmonar com os da função pulmonar entre pacientes acromegálicos com doença ativa e doença controlada e, secundariamente, correlacionar estes achados. Foi realizado um estudo transversal com 29 portadores de acromegalia que tiveram diagnóstico da acromegalia suspeitado por características clínicas e confirmado por níveis elevados de GH não suprimido ou com níveis de IGF-I acima do limite normal. Posteriormente, os pacientes foram subdivididos nos grupos doença ativa(11 indivíduos) e doença controlada(18 indivíduos), segundo os níveis séricos de IGF-I. Houve ainda um grupo controle (17 indivíduos) em que os pacientes, após já terem realizado TC de tórax por alguma razão, foram convidados à realizar os testes de função pulmonar. A Q-MDCT e os testes de função pulmonar apresentaram excelente correlação: o volume total do pulmão (VTP) medido na TC inspiratória apresentou correlação significante com a capacidade pulmonar total (rs=0,742, p=0,0001), enquanto VTP medido na TC expiratória apresentou correlação significante com a capacidade residual funcional (rs=0,606, p=0,0005). Os pacientes acromegálicos com doença ativa apresentaram pulmões mais pesados em relação aos controles [885 (723994) vs. 696 (599769) g, p=0.017]. Os pacientes com acromegalia ativa também apresentaram maiores quantidades de compartimentos pobremente aerados em relação aos outros dois grupos, sendo esta diferença observada em %VTP [3,25 (2,553,46) vs. 2,24 (1,702,56) vs. 1,70 (1,452,15), p = 0,001] e g [82,6 (75,4 100,2) vs. 63,9 (49,180,3) vs. 54,2 (42,259,2), p = 0,0001]. O compartimento pobremente aerado medido na TC inspiratória apresentou correlação significante com os níveis de GH e IGF (rs=0,407, p=0,029; rs=0,467, p=0,011, respectivamente). Em conclusão, a Q-MDCT mostra que os pacientes acromegálicos com doença ativa apresentam pulmões mais pesados e maiores quantidades de compartimentos não aerados e pobremente aerados. Há relações entre os achados da densitovolumetria pulmonar e os parâmetros dos testes de função pulmonar na acromegalia.

水生植物凤眼莲的种内基因型差异与入侵模式

原产于亚马逊河流域的水生植物凤眼莲（Eichhornia crassipes）在花部结构上有三种花型（L、M和S），故其配殖系统（mating system）为典型的三型花柱（tristyly）。但在入侵地区，它却常只有M和L两种花型，其中尤以M型占据绝对优势，使有性繁殖水平大为下降。为了解释凤眼莲在入侵过程中，花型频率为何发生变化以及该变化对其在入侵地的适应性进化上有何影响，作者在中国西南的两个居群中连续两年开展了野外生长和人工授粉实验，对比分析水面和泥地两类不同生境中M和L在克隆生长、生物量积累以及有性繁殖水平等方面的异同，并利用RAPD、 ISSR片段比较了具M型和L型花植物个体间的遗传变异水平。对三型花柱这一长期引人注目的遗传模式的分子位点也尝试了连锁片段的克隆和测序。 克隆生长的对比实验发现，在2004年，漂浮生长的M个体平均克隆分株数为25.37，L为21.20，前者显示较强的克隆生长能力（t＝2.252， P< 0.05）;2005年的实验再次证实M（每个个体19.83个分株）比L（每个个体15.53分株）表现出了显著较强的克隆优势（t＝2.631，P<0.001）。M较L多产生克隆约24%。 但在岸边泥地上固着生长时，2004年L个体平均克隆分株为16.20，M 为10.17个分株。L表现出了更强的克隆生长能力（t＝4.788，p<0.001），与漂浮生长状况下的情形恰恰相反，暗示M与L个体可能存在一定的生态位分化。这种分化可能是在入侵过程中形成的，也可能反映了原产地亚马孙流域旱涝交替造成的固着生长与漂浮生长交替发生的种内适应性。 生物量（干重）的对比分析发现，M个体在漂浮生长和固着生长的情况下都比L有着更高的生物量积累（漂浮生长实验：t＝6.173，p<0.005（2004年）;t＝6.99，p<0.001（2005年）。固着生长实验：t＝4.029，p<0.001）。生物量对凤眼莲的竞争和过冬有着一定的作用，因此较大的生物量积累可能是M个体在当地气候和环境中逐渐适应的一个结果。 有性繁殖的实验包括了实验个体的花序数与花朵数、自交与异交人工授粉的结实情况以及种子萌发率等方面的对比分析。结果表明，虽然M和L个体在花序数和花朵数上不存在显著差异，但是M个体在自交和异交的种子产量上比L略高，尤其是自交的种子产量，M显著高于L（M平均每个蒴果的自交种子产量为139.8，L为76.2）。以各100粒种子进行萌发实验，发现两花型之间在种子萌发率上不存在显著差异。对于M而言，其自交种子产量远大于异交种子产量 （139.8 vs. 93.3），且种子萌发率也略大于异交的种子萌发率（自交种子萌发率45.47％，异交种子萌发率 30.73％）。结合以上的实验结果，本文认为M基因型优势的形成可能与M个体与当地环境长期适应导致的生长与繁殖 上的优势有关。M的本地适应性是建立在特定的遗传背景上时，异交反而会破坏这种遗传组合，造成远交衰退。 对40个M和30个L个体进行20个RAPD引物和20个ISSR引物的遗传分析时发现，所有个体在RAPD表型上没有区别，但是在M中出现了3个ISSR表型，在L中出现了2个ISSR表型。本文还尝试利用RAPD技术扫描与三型花柱的遗传位点连锁的DNA片段。在146个RAPD随机引物中，初步发现两个候选片段，一个750bp，另一个2 000bp;已对它们进行了克隆、测序。 这些初步实验表明凤眼莲在我国的入侵可能伴随着基因型的差异表现和居群遗传分化，这种基因型的差异表现对该植物的成功入侵具有作用。其中，花型为M的个体的优势生长解释了该花型在中国分布区内的主导地位。推测该生长优势的遗传基础可能来源于基因组内较高的杂合子水平和在入侵地较长的适应历史，但最终结论尚有待进一步的实验证据。

The effect of feeding rate on the growth, food conversion and protein efficiency of silver dollar, Metynnis schreitmulleri (AHL), fry

A 30-day experiment was conducted to determine the effects of varying feeding rates on the growth of fry of silver dollar, Metynnis schreitmulleri (Ahl). Silver dollar fry with an average initial body weight of 1.100 ± 0.029 g were collected from a local fish breeder and fed a diet (35% protein and 6% fat) at the rate of 3, 6 and 9% of body weight per day in two equal meals. Per cent weight gain increased from 54.54 to 118.18 with increased feeding rates, which were significantly different (p<0.05) from each other. The highest specific growth rate was obtained in the fry fed at 9% body weight per day. In another study for 30 days, the effects of feeding frequency on growth, feed conversion and protein efficiency of silver dollar fry were evaluated. Groups of silver dollar fry with an initial individual weight of 0.700 ± 0.019 g were offered feed continuously for 24 hours during the day or night at different time intervals with varying meal sizes. The night time feeding with two meals gave the lowest weight and length gains (0.985 g and 0.30 cm). The growth rates of fish fed during day with three equal-sized meals are significantly (p<0.05) higher (4.66%) than the other treatments.

Reproductive biology of Otolithes cuvieri (Trewavas, 1974) from Mumbai waters

The reproductive biology of Otolithes cuvieri (Trewavas, 1974) is reported in the present communication. The size at first maturity for the females was estimated to be 275 mm. The spawning activity was observed throughout the year with two peaks occurring in April and June. Two prominent peaks of gonadosomatic index (April and June) also support the view of two major spawning. Relative fecundity ranged from 71,574 to 79,680 eggs per 100g of body weight. Relationship of fecundity with fish length, fish weight and ovary weight of the species has been established as F = -132971 + 1447.441 x L, F = 124195 + 468.798 x W and F = 250517.5 + 3369.029 x OW, respectively. Study of sex ratio by random sampling of the catches indicated the dominance of females in commercial catches of Mumbai coast.

Effect of benzocaine on opercular movement and oxygen consumption in Channa punctatus (Bloch)

Effect of anaesthetization with benzocaine at the rate of 18.0 mg.1super(-1) on juveniles of Channa punctatus was observed using a cylindrical glass respirometer. Oxygen consumption and opercular movement were studied at 3h and 24h of anaesthetization. The oxygen consumption of control fish increased linearly from 0.183±0.029 to 0.481±0.034 mlO sub(2).h super(-1) with an increase in body weight from 1.45±0.18 to 6.12±0.11g and showed a reduction (p<0.001) of about 41% in 3h and 37% in 24h anaesthetization of Benzocaine. Similarly, the opercular movement of control fish ranging between 46±1 to 49±1min super(-1) came down to show a reduction (p<0.001) of 43% and 38% respectively in 3h and 24h anaesthetization. The information is useful in calculation of oxygen requirement of this species for live transportation and other experimental purpose.

A mitogenomic perspective on the ancient, rapid radiation in the Galliformes with an emphasis on the Phasianidae

Background: The Galliformes is a well-known and widely distributed Order in Aves. The phylogenetic relationships of galliform birds, especially the turkeys, grouse, chickens, quails, and pheasants, have been studied intensively, likely because of their close association with humans. Despite extensive studies, convergent morphological evolution and rapid radiation have resulted in conflicting hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships. Many internal nodes have remained ambiguous. Results: We analyzed the complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes from 34 galliform species, including 14 new mt genomes and 20 published mt genomes, and obtained a single, robust tree. Most of the internal branches were relatively short and the terminal branches long suggesting an ancient, rapid radiation. The Megapodiidae formed the sister group to all other galliforms, followed in sequence by the Cracidae, Odontophoridae and Numididae. The remaining clade included the Phasianidae, Tetraonidae and Meleagrididae. The genus Arborophila was the sister group of the remaining taxa followed by Polyplectron. This was followed by two major clades: ((((Gallus, Bambusicola) Francolinus) (Coturnix, Alectoris)) Pavo) and (((((((Chrysolophus, Phasianus) Lophura) Syrmaticus) Perdix) Pucrasia) (Meleagris, Bonasa)) ((Lophophorus, Tetraophasis) Tragopan))). Conclusions: The traditional hypothesis of monophyletic lineages of pheasants, partridges, peafowls and tragopans was not supported in this study. Mitogenomic analyses recovered robust phylogenetic relationships and suggested that the Galliformes formed a model group for the study of morphological and behavioral evolution.

DEVELOPMENT OF MICROSATELLITE LOCI FOR PINUS KORAIENSIS (PINACEAE)

Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed for Pinus koraiensis to characterize its genetic diversity and understand its population structure. Methods and Results: Using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining (FIASCO) Repeats protocol, 20 primer sets were developed in Chinese populations of P. koraiensis. Three of the markers showed polymorphism with two alleles per locus when assessed in a sample of two populations of P. koraiensis from the Changbai Mountain in the Jilin Province of China. Five and three loci were successfully amplified in P. taiwanensis and P. massoniana, respectively. The amplification size of these loci matches those in P. koraiensis. Conclusions: These markers may be useful for further investigation of population genetics of P. koraiensis.

云南省HIV-1分子流行病学研究进展

云南省是中国HIV-1感染最早和最为严重的地区之一,流行的HIV-1病毒亚型种类复杂多样。已有证据表明国内其它地区的HIV-1亚型很可能主要来源于云南省。本文对云南省的HIV-1亚型的流行情况进行综述,希望能为预防控制云南省乃至全国HIV-1的流行以及合理设计HIV-1疫苗提供基础信息。

树突状细胞在AIDS灵长类动物模型疾病进程中的作用

非人灵长类动物模型在艾滋病(AIDS)发病机制、传播途径、疫苗和药物等方面的研究中具有重要作用。树突状细胞(DC)作为最重要连接先天免疫与获得性免疫的抗原递呈细胞,在AIDS发病进程中扮演着重要的角色。研究非人灵长类AIDS动物模型中DC亚群数量、表型以及功能的变化,对揭示AIDS发病机制具有十分重要的意义。该文将重点总结近些年来DC亚群在AIDS动物模型发病机制中的作用研究进展,为以后的研究提供思路。

三个非核苷类逆转录酶抑制剂S-DABO类衍生物的体外抗HIV作用(英文)

本文对3个新S-DABO类衍合物(RZK-4、RZK-5、RZK-6)的体外抗HIV活性进行了研究。化合物RZK-4、RZK-5和RZK-6在200μg·mL-1的浓度下均能完全抑制HIV-1逆转录酶的活性。3个化合物对多种细胞均呈现出低毒性,且均在较低浓度下具有抑制HIV-1病毒实验株、临床株和耐药株的作用,治疗指数为3704～38462。其中,化合物RZK-6对HIV-1耐药株HIV-1IIIBA17具有非常显著的抑制作用。结果表明,这3种S-DABO类衍生物有良好的体外抗HIV-1作用,具有开发成为抗HIV-1药物的前景。

Acute toxicity of unionized ammonia to milkfish (Chanos chanos Forsskal) fry

The study was conducted to determine the effects of varying concentrations of ammonia to milkfish fry. Two runs of static 96h bioassays were conducted to determine the median lethal concentration (LC 50) of unionized ammonia (NH₃) to milkfish fry. Test concentrations were based on exploratory 24h and 48h bioassays and were made in three replicates. Reagent grade ammonium chloride (NH₄Cl) was used to adjust the level of unionized ammonia. The 96h median lethal concentration, determined by the Reed Muench method was calculated at 28.029 ppm NH₃ 29.69 ppm. Even at high concentrations of unionized ammonia, most of the fry mortality occurred after 48 to 96 hours exposure. Severe gill damage occurs only at concentrations above 20 ppm, especially above the LC 50. The high LC 50 value obtain shows that milkfish fry has great tolerance to ammonia, that even fry with severely-damaged gills can still recover days after it is returned to favorable culture condition. The result suggest that observed mortalities of milkfish fry under culture conditions are not due to ammonia toxicity.

The Influence of Age and Sex on the Cell Counts of Peripheral Blood Leukocyte Subpopulations in Chinese Rhesus Macaques

Non-human primates such as Chinese rhesus macaques are the favorable models for preclinical study of potential therapeutic drugs, vaccines and mechanisms of human diseases. Little is known about the normal levels of leukocyte subpopulations of Chinese rhe

HSPC117 deficiency in cloned embryos causes placental abnormality and fetal death

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been successfully used in many species to produce live cloned offspring, albeit with low efficiency. The low frequency of successful development has usually been ascribed to incomplete or inappropriate reprogramming of the transferred nuclear genome. Elucidating the genetic differences between normal fertilized and cloned embryos is key to understand the low efficiency of SCNT. Here, we show that expression of HSPC117, which encodes a hypothetical protein of unknown function, was absent or very low in cloned mouse blastocysts. To investigate the role of HSPC117 in embryo development, we knocked-down this gene in normal fertilized embryos using RNA interference. We assessed the post-implantation survival of HSPC117 knock-down embryos at 3 stages: E9 (prior to placenta formation); E12 (after the placenta was fully functional) and E19 (post-natal). Our results show that, although siRNA-treated in vivo fertilized/produced (IVP) embryos could develop to the blastocyst stage and implanted without any difference from control embryos, the knock-down embryos showed substantial fetal death, accompanied by placental blood clotting, at E12. Furthermore, comparison of HSPC117 expression in placentas of nuclear transfer (NT), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and IVP embryos confirmed that HSPC117 deficiency correlates well with failures in embryo development: all NT embryos with a fetus, as well as IVP and ICSI embryos, had normal placental HSPC117 expression while those NT embryos showing reduced or no expression of HSPC117 failed to form a fetus. In conclusion, we show that HSPC117 is an important gene for post-implantation development of embryos, and that HSPC117 deficiency leads to fetal abnormalities after implantation, especially following placental formation. We suggest that defects in HSPC117 expression may be an important contributing factor to loss of cloned NT embryos in vivo. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of a fish bacterium Lactobacillus sp. on the production of swordtail xiphophorus helleri (Heckel 1848)

The influence of a fish gut bacterium Lactobacillus sp on the production of swordtail Xiphophorus helleri was studied for a period of one year. The Lactobacillus sp P21 produced bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance and exhibited wide spectrum of action against Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus spp, Pseudomonas spp and Citrobacter freundi in vitro. The growth performance of X. helleri reared in the presence of Lactobacillus P21 at 106/ml rearing water was better than the control. The total plate counts, total MRS agar counts and the counts of motile aeromonads, presumptive pseudomonads, lactose fermenters and lactose non-fermenters in the gut of probiotic group were comparatively low than the control. On day 60 the count of Lactobacillus sp P21 was observed to be log 5.28/g in the gut of X. helleri indicating colonization of this bacterium in the gastrointestinal tract. The fecundity of X. helleri was in the range of 9-134. On average, it produced from 39.42±18.72 fry/female in control group to 53.00±23.57 fry/female in probiotic group. The increase in average fecundity in probiotic group over the control group was about 25%. There existed significant difference between probiotic group and control in respect of average fecundity/female (p<0.02), average number of fry survived /female (p<0.006) and average number of fry dead/female (p<0.029). The results of the present study demonstrated that the rearing of X. helleri in probiotic-enriched water have growth inducing ability and favourably influenced the reproductive performance in terms of high fecundity, high fry survival, reduced fry mortality and reduced fry deformity.