A NEW SPECIES FROM SOUTHWESTERN CHINA IN THE AFRO-PALEARCTIC LINEAGE OF THE HORSESHOE BATS (RHINOLOPHUS)

A new species of horseshoe bat (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) is described from southwestern China. The presence of a wedge-shaped sella and pointed connecting process of the nose leaf aligns the new species to the landeri group in the Afro-Palearctic lineag

Predation on giant flying squirrels (Petaurista philippensis) by black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor jingdongensis) at Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan, China

Predation on vertebrates is infrequent in gibbons. In a 14-month field study of the central Yunnan black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor jingdongensis) at Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan, China, we observed gibbons attacking, killing and eating giant flying squirre

Altitudinal Ranging of Black-Crested Gibbons at Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan: Effects of Food Distribution, Temperature and Human Disturbance

We studied the altitudinal ranging of one habituated group of black-crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) at Dazhaizi, Mt. Wuliang, Yunnan, China, between March 2005 and April 2006. The group ranged from 1,900 to 2,680 m above sea level. Food distribution was the driving force behind the altitudinal ranging patterns of the study group. They spent 83.2% of their time ranging between 2,100 and 2,400 m, where 75.8% of important food patches occurred. They avoided using the area above 2,500 m despite a lack of human disturbance there, apparently because there were few food resources. Temperature had a limited effect on seasonal altitudinal ranging but probably explained the diel altitudinal ranging of the group, which tended to use the lower zone in the cold morning and the higher zone in the warm afternoon. Grazing goats, the main disturbance, were limited to below 2,100 m, which was defined as the high-disturbance area (HDA). Gibbons spent less time in the HDA and, when ranging there, spent more time feeding and travelling and less time resting and singing. Human activities directly influenced gibbon behaviour, might cause forest degradation and create dispersal barriers between populations. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel

Maintenance of Multifemale Social Organization in a Group of Nomascus concolor at Wuliang Mountain, Yunnan, China

Many short-term studies have reported groups of black crested gibbons containing >= 2 adult females (Nomascus concolor). We report the stability of multifemale groups in this species over a period of 6 yr. Our focal group and 2 neighboring groups included 2 breeding females between March 2003 and June 2009. We also habituated 1 multifemale group to observers and present detailed information concerning their social relationships over a 9-mo observation period. We investigated interindividual distances and agonistic behavior among the 5 group members. The spatial relationship between the 3 adult members (1 male, 2 females) formed an equilateral triangle. A subadult male was peripheral to the focal group, while a juvenile male maintained a closer spatial relationship with the adult members. We observed little agonistic behavior among the adult members. The close spatial relationship and lack of high rates of agonistic behavior among females suggest that the benefits of living in a multifemale group were equal to or greater than the costs for both females, given their ecological and social circumstances. The focal group occupied a large home range that was likely to provide sufficient food sources for the 2 females and their offspring. Between March 2003 and June 2009, 1 adult female gave 2 births and the other one gave 1 birth. All individuals in the focal group survived to June 2009. A long-term comparative study focused on females living in multifemale groups and females living in pair-living groups would provide insight into understanding the evolutionary mechanisms of the social system in gibbons.

Schizophrenia patients and their healthy siblings share disruption of white matter integrity in the left prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus but not the anterior cingulate cortex

Healthy siblings of schizophrenia patients have an almost 9-fold higher risk for developing the illness than the general population. Disruption of white matter (WM) integrity as indicated by reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) derived from diffusion tensor

Frontal and cingulate gray matter volume reduction in heroin dependence: Optimized voxel-based morphometry

Aims: Repeated exposure to heroin, a typical opiate, causes neuronal adaptation and may result in anatomical changes in specific brain regions, particularly the frontal and limbic cortices. The volume changes of gray matter (GM) of these brain regions, ho

Characteristics of blood flow in microchannels and relevant impact on modelling blood behaviour in biochip separators

This paper reports a perspective investigation of computational modelling of blood fluid in microchannel devices as a preparation for future research on fluid-structure interaction (FSI) in biofluid mechanics. The investigation is carried out through two aspects, respectively on physical behaviours of blood flow in microchannels and appropriate methodology for modelling. The physics of blood flow is targeted to the challenges for describing blood flow in microchannels, including rheology of blood fluid, suspension features of red blood cells (RBCs), laminar hydrodynamic influence and effect of surface roughness. The analysis shows that due to the hyperelastic property of RBC and its comparable dimension with microchannels, blood fluid shows complex behaviours of two phase flow. The trajectory and migration of RBCs require accurate description of RBC deformation and interaction with plasma. Following on a discussion of modelling approaches, i.e. Eulerian method and Lagrangian method, the main stream modelling methods for multiphase flow are reviewed and their suitability to blood flow is analysed. It is concluded that the key issue for blood flow modelling is how to describe the suspended blood cells, modelled by Lagrangian method, and couple them with the based flow, modelled by Eulerian method. The multiphase flow methods are thereby classified based on the number of points required for describing a particle, as follows: (i) single-point particle methods, (ii) mutli-point particle methods, (iii) functional particle methods, and (iv) fluid particle methods. While single-point particle methods concentrate on particle dynamic movement, multipoint and functional particle methods can take into account particle mechanics and thus offer more detailed information for individual particles. Fluid particle methods provide good compromise between two phases, but require additional information for particle mechanics. For furthermore detailed description, we suggest to investigate the possibility using two domain coupling method, in which particles and base flow are modelled by two separated solvers. It is expected that this paper could clarify relevant issues in numerical modelling of blood flow in microchannels and induce some considerations for modelling blood flow using multiphase flow methods. © 2012 IEEE.

Progress towards the design and numerical analysis of a 3D microchannel biochip separator

This paper reports the design and numerical analysis of a three-dimensional biochip plasma blood separator using computational fluid dynamics techniques. Based on the initial configuration of a two-dimensional (2D) separator, five three-dimensional (3D) microchannel biochip designs are categorically developed through axial and plenary symmetrical expansions. These include the geometric variations of three types of the branch side channels (circular, rectangular, disc) and two types of the main channel (solid and concentric). Ignoring the initial transient behaviour and assuming that steady-state flow has been established, the behaviour of the blood fluid in the devices is algebraically analysed and numerically modelled. The roles of the relevant microchannel mechanisms, i.e. bifurcation, constriction and bending channel, on promoting the separation process are analysed based on modelling results. The differences among the different 3D implementations are compared and discussed. The advantages of 3D over 2D separator in increasing separation volume and effectively depleting cell-free layer fluid from the whole cross section circumference are addressed and illustrated. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Biofluid behaviour in 3D microchannel systems: Numerical analysis and design development of 3D microchannel biochip separators

This paper describes the design and development cycle of a 3D biochip separator and the modelling analysis of flow behaviour in the biochip microchannel features. The focus is on identifying the difference between 2D and 3D implementations as well as developing basic forms of 3D microfluidic separators. Five variants, based around the device are proposed and analysed. These include three variations of the branch channels (circular, rectangular, disc) and two variations of the main channel (solid and concentric). Ignoring the initial transient behaviour and assuming steady state flow has been established, the efficiencies of the flow between the main and side channels for the different designs are analysed and compared with regard to relevant biomicrofluidic laws or effects (bifurcation law, Fahraeus effect, cell-free phenomenon, bending channel effect and laminar flow behaviour). The modelling results identify flow features in microchannels, a constriction and bifurcations and show detailed differences in flow fields between the various designs. The manufacturing process using injection moulding for the initial base case design is also presented and discussed. The work reported here is supported as part of the UK funded 3D-MINTEGRATION project. © 2010 IEEE.

Identification and characterization of hypoxia-induced genes in Carassius auratus blastulae embryonic cells using suppression subtractive hybridization

Organisms living in water are inevitably exposed to periods of hypoxia. Environmental hypoxia has been an important stressor having manifold effects on aquatic life. Many fish species have evolved behavioral, physiological, biochemical and molecular adaptations that enable them to cope with hypoxia. However, the molecular mechanisms of hypoxia tolerance in fish, remain unknown. in this study, we used suppression subtractive hybridization to examine the differential gene expression in CAB cells (Carassius auratus blastulae embryonic cells) exposed to hypoxia for 24 h. We isolated 2100 clones and identified 211 differentially expressed genes (e-value <= 5e-3; Identity > 45%). Among the genes whose expression is modified in cells, a vast majority involved in metabolism, signal transduction, cell defense, angiogenesis, cell growth and proliferation. Twelve genes encoding for ERO1-L, p53, CPO, HO-1, MKP2, PFK-2, cystatin B, GLUT1, BTG1, TGF beta 1, PGAM1, hypothetical protein F1508, were selected and identified to be hypoxia-induced using semi-quantitive RT-PCR and real-time PCR. Among the identified genes, two open reading frames (ORFs) encoding for CaBTG1 and Cacystatin B were obtained. The deduced amino acid sequence of CaBTG1 had 94.1%, 72.8%, 72.8%, 72.8%, 68.6% identity with that of DrBTG1, HsBTG1, BtBTG1, MmBTG1 and XIBTG1. Comparison of Cacystatin B with known cystatin B, the molecules exhibited 49.5 to 76.0% identity overall. These results may provide significant information for further understanding of the adaptive mechanism by which C. auratus responds to hypoxia. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inductive transcription and protective role of fish heme oxygenase-1 under hypoxic stress

Heme oxygenase-1 is the rate-limiting enzyme in the degradation of heme into biliverdin, carbon monoxide and free divalent iron. In this study, we cloned heme oxygenase isoform 1 (CaHO-1) from a hypoxia-tolerant teleost fish Carassius auratus. The full-length cDNA of CaHO-1 is 1247 bp and encodes a protein of 272 amino acids. RT-PCR and real-time PCR analysis indicated that CaHO-1 was predominantly transcribed in posterior kidney, head kidney, gill and intestine, and induction of gene transcription was observed predominantly in posterior kidney under hypoxic stress. Moreover, the hypoxia-induced transcription was confirmed in goldfish larvae and in in vitro cultured CAB cells. Fluorescence of the HO-1-GFP fusion protein revealed a cytoplasmic and plasma membrane localization, which was consistent with the putative transmembrane structure. Subsequently, we established a stably transfected CAB/pcDNA3.1-HO-1 cell line and a control CAB/pcDNA3.1 cell line, and found that the number of dead cells was obviously reduced in the pcDNA3.1-HO-1-transfected group following 4 days of hypoxic (1% O-2) treatment in comparison with numerous detached dead cells in the control pcDNA3.1-transfected cells. Furthermore, a significant cell viability difference between the two kinds of transfected cells during hypoxia-reoxygenation was revealed. Therefore, the data suggest that fish HO-1 might play a significant protective role in cells in response to hypoxic stress.

Food web of benthic macro invertebrates in a large Yangtze River-connected lake: the role of flood disturbance

This Study was conducted in Lake Dongtinghu, a large river-connected lake on the Yangtze River flood-plain, China. Our goal was to determine trophic relationships among benthic macroinvertebrates, as well as the effects of flood disturbance on the benthic food web of a river-connected lake. Macroinvertebrates in the lake fed mainly on detritus and plankton (both zooplankton and phytoplankton). Food web Structure in Lake Dongtinghu was characterized by molluscs as the dominant group, low connectance, high level of omnivory. based oil detritus and primary production, and most ingestion concentrating on a few links. Our analyses showed that flood disturbance is an important factor affecting the benthic food web in Lake Dongtinghu. The numbers of species and functional feeding groups (FFGs), and the density and biomass of macroinvertebrates decreased significantly during flooding. Connectance was higher during the flood season than in other seasons, indicating that floods have a strong effect on connectance in this Yangtze River-connected lake. Flood effects on the benthic web were also evident in the decrease of niche overlaps within and anion, FFGs. Our results provide useful information regarding biodiversity conservation on the Yangtze floodplain. Reconstructing and maintaining natural and regular flow regimes between Yangtze lakes and the river is essential for restoration of macroinvertebrates on the floodplain.

Macrozoobenthic community of Fuxian Lake, the deepest lake of southwest China

Located in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in southwest China, Fuxian Lake covers an area of 211 km(2), with maximum depth of 155 m. It is known to have a unique fauna, including 14 described endemic species. In order to describe the zoobenthic community of the lake more completely, the present study was conducted from August 2002 to August 2003. Altogether 62 benthic taxa, including 22 oligochaetes, 21 molluscs and 18 insects were identified, of which the dominant taxa belonged to Potamothrix, Procladius and Paraprososthenia. The standing stocks of benthos were much higher in the littoral (824 ind/m(2) in density, 3.72 g/m(2) in biomass) than in the profundal region (23 ind/m(2) in density, 0.10 g/m(2) in biomass). Species richness was greatest in summer and standing stocks were larger in spring and summer than in other seasons. Analyses of functional feeding groups indicated that collector-gatherers and scrapers were predominant in entire lake. Stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the water depth is the most important factor affecting the distribution of macrozoobenthos. (C) 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Dynamics of filopodium-like protrusion and endothelial cellular motility on onedimensional extracellular matrix fibrils

Endothelial filopodia play key roles in guiding the tubular sprouting during angiogenesis. However, their dynamic morphological characteristics, with the associated implications in cell motility, have been subjected to limited investigations. In this work, the interaction between endothelial cells and extracellular matrix fibrils was recapitulated in vitro, where a specific focus was paid to derive the key morphological parameters to define the dynamics of filopodium-like protrusion during cell motility. Based on one-dimensional gelatin fibrils patterned by near-field electrospinning (NFES), we study the response of endothelial cells (EA.hy926) under normal culture or ROCK inhibition. It is shown that the behaviour of temporal protrusion length versus cell motility can be divided into distinct modes. Persistent migration was found to be one of the modes which permitted cell displacement for over 300 μm at a speed of approximately 1 μm min-1. ROCK inhibition resulted in abnormally long protrusions and diminished the persistent migration, but dramatically increased the speeds of protrusion extension and retraction. Finally, we also report the breakage of protrusion during cell motility, and examine its phenotypic behaviours. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.