Effects of EGLN1 siRNA on growth of rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells under hypoxic condition

AIM: To observe whether EGLN1 gene is involved in the growth of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) during hypoxia when EGLN1 gene expression was interference by siRNA. METHODS: The rat primary pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells were cultured, and the specific lipidosome of EGLN1 siRNA was constructed and transfected into the PASMCs. The transfected PASMCs were cultured under hypoxia or normoxia conditions, respectively. The viability of the PASMCs was detected by CCK-8 assay. The protein expression of EGLN1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was determined by Western blot. RESULTS: The viability of the PASMCs was increased and the protein expression of VEGF was up-regulated in the PASMCs under hypoxic condition in a time-dependent manner. In hypoxia or normoxia condition, the viability and VEGF protein expression of the PASMCs were suppressed by EGLN1 siRNA. CONCLUSION: EGLN1 gene may involve in the growth of rat PASMCs by regulating VEGF protein level under hypoxic condition.     

Indices of landscape pattern

Landscape ecology deals with the patterning of ecosystems in space. Methods are needed to quantify aspects of spatial pattern that can be correlated with ecological processes. The present paper develops three indices of pattern derived from information theory and fractal geometry. Using digitized maps, the indices are calculated for 94 quadrangles covering most of the eastern United States. The indices are shown to be reasonably independent of each other and to capture major features of landscape pattern. One of the indices, the fractal dimension, is shown to be correlated with the degree of human manipulation of the landscape.     

Scaling relations between riparian vegetation and stream order in the Whitewater River network,Kansas, USA

Riparian communities have been well-studied along individual streams, but not within the context of networks of which streams are a part. To study networks, hydrologists use Horton–Strahler ordering to assign streams to discrete categories in which increasing numerical value (ω) reflects increasing size of the stream and complexity of the network. A key use of this classification method has been to demonstrate scaling relations between hydrogeomorphic variables and order. These relations now provide a foundation to determine how ecological processes are associated with the geometry and topology of river networks. We used geographic information systems (GIS) to map and measure the stream network and riparian vegetation of the Whitewater River basin of eastern Kansas, USA. With the resulting data, we tested if (1) riparian vegetation scaled with order, and (2) riparian vegetation at confluences of two streams differed from that found along constituent streams. Most characteristics of riparian vegetation scaled with order. In confluence zones, density and diversity of riparian vegetation generally were equivalent to that of the largest constituent stream. Scaling relations between riparian vegetation and order provide a framework to quantify the role of riparian vegetation in the water balance of stream networks and a tool to predict area and distribution of riparian vegetation from network topology.     

A mobility model for classical swine fever in feral pig populations

We present a simulation model which explicitly captures the movement of wild animals over the landscape and the effect which herd mobility has on the temporal and spatial course of an epidemic. Using the example of classical swine fever in feral pig populations in the tropical savannas, we demonstrate that seasonal factors influencing population density and movement patterns are an important factor in the transmission of the disease. Pig population density is much greater at the start of the dry season than at the start of the wet season, with an epidemic most likely to occur if initiated at the start of the dry season. Spatial heterogeneity due to scarcity of water in the dry season causes herds to congregate around water sources. This concentration of herds, and the consequential isolation of sub-populations, reduces overall disease transmission compared with a model where the population is more evenly distributed over the landscape. The presence of adult male pig herds, which travel over greater distances than family herds, is shown to increase the overall scale of an outbreak in the dry season by connecting together otherwise isolated family herds. Eradication strategies are more likely to be successful in the dry season if they target long-range adult male herds. Our simulation method is generic and is equally applicable to other diseases where the host species is mobile.     

Analysing spatially intermittent variation of nitrous oxide emissions from soil with wavelets and the implications for sampling

Emissions of gases from the soil are known to vary spatially in a complex way. In this paper we show how such data can be analysed with the wavelet transform. We analysed data on rates of N₂O emission from soil cores collected at 4‐m intervals on a 1024‐m transect across arable land at Silsoe in England. We used a thresholding procedure to represent intermittent variation in N₂O emission from the soil as a sparse wavelet process, i.e. one in which most of the wavelet coefficients are not significantly different from zero. This analysis made clear that the rate of N₂O emission varied more intermittently on this transect than did soil pH, for which many more of the wavelet coefficients had to be retained. This account of intermittent variation motivated us to consider a class of random functions, which we call wavelet random functions, for the simulation of spatially intermittent variation. A wavelet random function (WRF) is an inverse wavelet transform of a set of random wavelet coefficients with specified variance at each scale. We generated intermittent variation at a particular scale in the WRF by specifying a binormal process for the wavelet coefficients at this scale. We showed by simulation that adaptive sampling schemes are more efficient than ordinary stratified random sampling to estimate the mean of a spatial variable that is intermittent at a particular scale. This is because the sampling can be concentrated in the more variable regions. When we simulated values that emulate the intermittency of our data on N₂O we found that the gains in efficiency from simple adaptive sampling schemes were small. This was because the emission of N₂O is intermittent over several disparate scales. More sophisticated adaptive sampling is needed for these conditions, and it should embody knowledge of the relevant soil processes.     

去除优势种后高寒针茅化草甸群落对增温增雨及其协同作用的响应

2015年6~8月在青海省海北州高寒针茅化草甸草原进行了模拟气候变化及去除优势种紫花针茅(Stipapurpurea)野外控制试验。通过设置增温2℃,增加降雨量20%,研究植物优势种丧失后气候因素对物种多样性和群落稳定性的影响。结果表明:去除紫花针茅后,增温,增雨及两者的交互作用对植物高度、盖度及地上生物量均没有显著影响;增温处理下Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Simpson优势度指数、Pielou均匀度指数均与对照差异显著(P0.05),说明增温可以提高植物群落的丰富度和均匀度,增雨处理下3个多样性指数均为最高值;去除优势植物紫花针茅后,植物物种数与植物盖度,植物盖度及优势度指数均呈显著正相关。     

Ventroaxial luxation of the apex of the corniculate process of the arytenoid cartilage in resting horses during induced swallowing or nasal occlusion

OBJECTIVE: To report ventroaxial luxation of the apex of the left or right corniculate process of the arytenoid cartilage under the contralateral corniculate process during resting endoscopic examination, and morphologic features of the larynx of 1 affected horse. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: Horses (n=8). METHODS: Horses had endoscopic examination as part of a survey of Clydesdale horses (n=7), or investigation of poor performance in Thoroughbred horses (1). One Clydesdale was euthanatized and the larynx examined; 4 cadaver larynges from normal horses were also examined. RESULTS: Ventroaxial luxation of the apex of the left or right corniculate process of the arytenoid cartilage was not detected during quiet breathing but was induced by swallowing or nasal occlusion. Prevalence in Clydesdales was 5.2% (7/133). A Thoroughbred with identical endoscopic appearance of the larynx at rest had progressive ventroaxial luxation of the apex of the arytenoid cartilage during high-speed treadmill endoscopy, associated with abnormal respiratory noise. Necropsy examination of an affected Clydesdale larynx revealed an excessively wide (10 mm) transverse arytenoid ligament that allowed easy separation of the apices of the corniculate processes. In normal cadaver larynges, the apices could not be separated with abaxial traction. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The clinical relevance of this laryngeal observation in resting horses is unclear. Ventroaxial luxation of the corniculate process of the arytenoid cartilage during induced swallowing or nasal occlusion in resting horses or during high-speed treadmill exercise may be caused by an abnormally wide transverse arytenoid ligament.     

Biological characterisation of Australian isolates of chicken anaemia agent

Three Australian isolates of chicken anaemia agent (CAA) resisted treatment at 70 degrees C for 5 min and chloroform treatment. Although minor antigenic differences were detected using monoclonal antibodies to CAA, the Australian isolates were indistinguishable from the reference Cux-1 and Gifu-1 isolates in cross-immunofluorescence and cross-neutralisation tests employing polyclonal chicken antiserums. The Australian viruses were pathogenic for intramuscularly inoculated 1-day-old SPF chicks, but were less pathogenic for 7-day-old chicks. Thus the Australian isolates of CAA did not differ significantly in these properties from previously characterised CAA isolates from other continents.     

A Rare Case of Polyorchidism in a Cat with Four Intra‐abdominal Testes

Polyorchidism is a rare congenital anomaly defined as the presence of more than two histologically proven testes. We report a case of a 9‐month‐old European cat with four intra‐abdominal testes. The diagnosis was performed by means of ultrasonography, intra‐operative examination and histological confirmation. The case reported here presents an extremely rare anomaly, as no previous studies in veterinary medicine have reported the presence of four testes. This case suggests that supernumerary testes should be included as differential diagnoses for intra‐abdominal masses.