Normalized Brain Weight as a Characteristic of the Relationship between the Body and Brain Weights in Birds

The growth of many internal organs of vertebrates is isometrically related to the growth of the body. Therefore, calculation of the index of an organ makes it possible to eliminate the basic dependence of organ weight on body weight and to reveal the effects of second-order factors. The relationship between the brain and body weights is allometric in all vertebrates, from fishes to birds and mammals, including man. To make this relationship isometric, brain weight should be divided by the square root of body weight, rather than body weight proper. This parameter was previously named normalized brain weight (NBW). The advantage of using NBW instead of cerebral index has been demonstrated for 88 subarctic populations of different bird species.     

稀土元素的脑部蓄积性、毒性及其对人群健康的潜在危害

论述了稀土元素在动物脑部的蓄积性、对脑的毒性以及稀土区人群的脑部毒性效应,分析了稀土农业应用和稀土厂“三废”对生态环境和人群健康的潜在危害。     

彗星电泳法测定双酚A对雄性幼龄小鼠脑细胞的DNA损伤

双酚A是一种日常生活中无处不在的环境雌激素,具有生殖和神经毒性,但低剂量长期暴露对发育期青少年的危害性常常被低估或忽视。本研究以4周龄雄性清洁级小鼠为实验对象,以茶油作为溶媒对照,分别以双酚A浓度为0μg·m L-1、0.1μg·m L-1、10μg·m L-1和1 000μg·m L-1的茶油灌胃小鼠8周,然后利用彗星电泳法检测各组小鼠脑细胞的DNA损伤。结果显示,不同浓度双酚A暴露8周后,彗星电泳图像显示小鼠脑细胞DNA出现不同程度的损伤,随着暴露剂量的增加,带有彗尾的脑细胞比率从对照组小鼠的9.5%分别升高到暴露组小鼠的34.5%、36.0%和50.5%,细胞总体的尾部DNA含量、尾长和尾矩也都逐渐增加,而且各双酚A暴露组小鼠与溶媒对照组小鼠脑细胞都具有显著性差异(P0.01),这说明中长期双酚A暴露(包括低浓度环境暴露)会导致雄性幼龄小鼠脑细胞的DNA损伤。     

DEHP暴露对鲤鱼肾脑生物标志物的影响

为探讨邻苯二甲酸二乙基己酯(DEHP)对鱼类肾、脑组织生物标志物的影响,将鲤鱼分别在浓度为5、20、80、160 mg·L~(-1)的DEHP水体,暴露20 d,以水和吐温-80为对照,测定肾脑组织中多种酶活性和丙二醛(MDA)含量的变化。结果表明:与水对照组相比,吐温-80组所测各项指标,差异均不显著。与水和吐温-80对照组相比,各染毒组,肾脏中超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性和抗羟自由基、抗超氧阴离子的活力均显著降低(P0.05或P0.01)。谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)酶活性呈现先升高后降低,在5、20、80 mg·L~(-1)浓度组显著升高(P0.05)。丙二醛(MDA)含量在80、160 mg·L~(-1)浓度下,显著升高(P0.05),但脑组织中变化不显著。脑中一氧化氮合酶(NOS)在各浓度组显著升高(P0.05或P0.01);乙酰胆碱酯酶(ACh E)在80、160 mg·L~(-1)时降低显著(P0.05);钙调神经磷酸酶(CaN)呈先升高后降低的趋势,在20 mg·L~(-1)下,升高显著(P0.01),在80、160 mg·L~(-1)浓度组,降低极显著(P0.01);抗羟自由基、抗超氧阴离子活性均显著下降(P0.05或P0.01)。可见,在实验浓度范围内,DEHP对鲤鱼具有一定免疫毒性和神经毒性,进一步的机理有待研究。     

Comparative studies of liver and brain glycogen content of male and female Clarias batrachus (L.) after exposure of different doses of arsenic

Different doses of arsenic (As) were used to investigate comparative toxicity on the liver and brain glycogen content on male and female Indian catfish Clarias batrachus (L.). As-induced effects were associated with gender, dose (5, 10, or 15?mg?L^?1), and varying time periods (48, 96, or 144?h). It was noted that As produced dose- and time-dependent liver glycogenolysis and late brain glycogenolysis. Liver glycogenolysis was significantly increased after 48?h at all three As doses. At the highest dose 15?mg?L^?1, liver glycogen were markedly diminished at in both male and female fish, but in females more reduction was observed than in males. However, with brain glycogen, the significant decrease was noted at 144?h with all three dose levels in both genders, with male being more susceptible. Thus, this study indicates that As produces glycogenolysis. The reduction in the liver glycogen content was more pronounced in female than in the male fish, whereas brain glycogen content decrease was more prominent in males.     

A Radio Communication System for Neuronal Signals

Abstract

To collect neuronal activity data from awake, freely behaving animals, we developed miniature telemetry recording system. The integrated system consists of four major components: 1) Microelectrodes and micro-driver assembly, 2) analog front end (AFE), 3) programmable system on chip (PSoC), and 4) radio transceiver and the LabVIEW were used as a platform for the graphic user interface. The result showed the system was able to record and analyze neuronal recordings in freely moving animals and lasted continuously for a time period of a week or more. This is very useful for the study of the interdisciplinary research of neuroscience and information engineering techniques. The circuits and architecture of the devices can be adapted for neurobiology and research with other small animals.     

低剂量双酚A影响哺乳动物神经发育研究现状及争议

为全面认识低剂量BPA（双酚A）对哺乳动物神经发育的影响,本文从中国知网、PubMed和Web of Science 3个数据库中获取了国内外关于低剂量BPA影响哺乳动物神经发育的研究报道,并使用toxR工具对其可信度进行评估,最终筛选获得26项相关研究;从美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）工作网站上获取最新BPA毒性报告1篇.通过比较分析这些研究,发现大部分研究报道低剂量BPA暴露导致哺乳动物神经行为、特定脑区内组织学结构和细胞特征、神经递质和激素稳态、脑中关键基因表达以及表观遗传特征发生改变.但是,就导致的神经行为的改变而言,一些研究的结果并不一致甚至有诸多矛盾之处.这些不一致的结果可能与动物实验设计的差异有关,其中神经行为测试的质量控制和统计方法中统计单元的选择对于研究结果的影响尤其值得关注.总之,从目前的文献来看,低剂量BPA对哺乳动物神经发育的影响尚待进一步的确认.     

Traumatic brain injury-related hospitalizations and deaths among American Indians and Alaska natives — United States, 2008–2014

IntroductionDespite progress, injury remains the leading cause of preventable death for American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN), aged 1 to 44. There are few publications on injuries among the AI/AN population, especially those on traumatic brain injury (TBI). A TBI can cause short- or long-term changes in cognition, communication, and/or emotion. Methods: To describe changes over time in TBI incidence by mechanism of injury, injury intent, and age group among AI/ANs, the CDC analyzed hospitalization and death data from the 2008–2014 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) National Inpatient Sample (NIS) and the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), respectively. Results: From 2008-2014, the incidence of TBI-related hospitalizations increased by 32% (1,477 in 2008 to 1,945 in 2014) and resulted in a 21% increase in age-adjusted rates of people hospitalized with TBI. TBI-related deaths increased in number (569 in 2008 to 644 in 2014) and age-adjusted rate (22.7 in 2008 to 25.4 in 2014) by approximately 13% and 12%, respectively. Motor-vehicle crashes were the leading cause of TBI-related deaths among AI/ANs aged 0–54 years. Practical application: Prevention efforts should focus on increasing motor-vehicle safety and advancing prevention strategies for other leading causes of TBI, including: falls, intentional self-harm, and assaults.     

基于EEG的有限空间检修工脑疲劳特性研究

为了探究有限空间内检修工在高温高湿状态下的脑疲劳特征，采用对照与模拟有限空间作业环境相结合的方法，对作业人员脑电波变化进行监测，利用傅里叶变换对原波信号进行时频转换，提取相对频率、重心频率等特征参数。研究结果表明:在高温高湿的有限空间环境中，人体脑波功率变化幅度明显变大；在进入疲劳状态时有限空间环境的脑波功率低于对照组；高频的β波在高温高湿环境中减少的比例较大，平均下降7.1%；脑波重心频率由8 Hz降为6 Hz，平均下降11.3%，由α波变为θ波，大脑活动进入疲劳状态。说明有限空间的高温高湿环境对人体脑疲劳具有明显影响，可用于脑电智能穿戴监测设备监测工人脑疲劳状况。     

HPLC荧光检测法测定SO2吸入后小鼠脑、心和肺亚硫酸盐水平

为了探讨二氧化硫(SO2)吸入后是否可进入小鼠不同组织器官,运用高效液相色谱(HPLC)荧光检测(FD)法测定了SO2动式吸入后雄性小鼠脑、心和肺组织中SO2在体内的衍生物--亚硫酸盐含量组织匀浆液经还原、衍生和沉淀蛋白,取上清液进入色谱仪检测.亚硫酸盐测定标准曲线在0.126 μg·mL-1～126 μg·mL-1有良好的线性关系,检测限为0.04μg·mL-1(S/N=3),测定方法的回收率在97%～101%之间,日内和日间的精密度RSD低于9%.分析结果表明,SO2吸入后小鼠3种器官组织中亚硫酸盐含量比对照组显著增加(P＜0.05),且与SO2浓度呈明确的剂量效应关系(r＞0.92).这说明SO2被小鼠吸入后转化为亚硫酸盐并可分布到肺和其它器官如脑和心等,从而为SO2是一种全身性毒物的观点提供支持.此外,本文对HPLC荧光检测亚硫酸盐的方法作了改进,为研究SO2及其衍生物的毒作用提供了更为有效的方法.