Testicular damage after chronic exposure to carbendazim in male goats

The present investigation was aimed to determine the effect of chronic exposure of carbendazim on cellular changes in testes of male goats. The goats were randomly divided into two groups, control and treatment (N?=?7 each). The treatment group was exposed to carbendazim at the dose rate of 50?mg?kg^?1 body weight per day orally, once daily for 180 consecutive days. Testes were removed from control and experimental animals surgically on the 90th, 120th, and 180th day. On the 180th day of the treatment, a maximum number of seminiferous tubules became atrophic, and vacuolization of germinal epithelium, and sloughing of the germinal epithelium and sertoli cells was more marked as compared to days 90 and 120. Some of the seminiferous tubules were devoid of germinal cells. These pathological findings were supported by ultrathin and electron microscopic examination. On the basis of the present investigation it could be concluded that chronic exposure of carbendazim in male goats did not allow proper maturation of testis.     

甲醛对原癌基因c-myc、MDM2及抑癌基因p53的影响

为研究吸入性甲醛的毒性能否进入动物骨髓组织,引起骨髓组织基因表达发生改变,选择小鼠某些原癌基因和抑癌基因为研究对象,以SPF级balb/c雄性小鼠为材料,采用动态吸入方式染毒2周(5+2模式),染毒浓度分别为0, 0.5, 3.0mg/m3,用半定量RT-PCR方法检测不同浓度甲醛对小鼠染毒后骨髓组织细胞中c-myc、MDM2和p53基因表达的变化.结果表明,在不同浓度的甲醛暴露条件下,与空白对照组相比,小鼠骨髓组织中的c-myc基因,MDM2基因和p53基因表达均发生改变,在3.0mg/m3浓度组与空白对照组存在显著差异(P<0.05), c-myc基因,MDM2基因呈现表达上调,p53基因则呈现表达下调.吸入性甲醛的毒性能进入动物骨髓组织,并能引起骨髓组织基因表达发生改变.     

北京不同污染天气PM_(2.5)和PM_(10)染毒对大鼠生理病理参数的影响

为探讨北京不同污染天气大气可吸入颗粒物PM_(10)和细颗粒物PM_(2.5)污染对雄性大鼠血常规、氧化损伤、炎症反应和肺组织的影响,将64只雄性8周龄Wistar大鼠随机分为8组,分别为2个对照组(空白组和生理盐水组)和6个染毒组(清洁、雾霾及沙尘暴3种不同天气的PM_(10)染毒组和PM_(2.5)染毒组),每组8只。用2015年3月—5月在北京南海子麋鹿苑采集的清洁、雾霾和沙尘暴3种不同天气的PM_(10)和PM_(2.5)制备悬液,分别采用气管滴入PM_(10)和PM_(2.5)悬液作为染毒组,空白对照组不做任何处理,生理盐水对照组采用气管滴注生理盐水。急性染毒24 h后处死大鼠。采集血液测定18个血常规指标,分析肺泡灌洗液(BALF)中转化生长因子-β1(TGF-β1)、乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)、总抗氧化能力(T-AOC)、白介素-6(IL-6)及肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)的含量,并在高倍显微镜下观察肺组织和气管病理形态变化。同时,对PM_(10)和PM_(2.5)中的水溶性离子、有机碳/元素碳、16种多环芳烃和7种重金属等元素进行了测定,并分析了各组分与大鼠生理病理指标的相关性。结果表明:清洁、沙尘暴天气的PM_(10)和雾霾天气的PM_(2.5)急性染毒导致大鼠白细胞系参数即免疫力显著下降。污染天气颗粒物染毒后大鼠BALF氧化炎症因子的改变表明呼吸系统受到感染:沙尘暴和清洁天的PM_(10)染毒均显著提高了TGF-β1,雾霾PM_(10)染毒后IL-6和LDH有一定程度升高。3种天气颗粒物染毒对肺和气管造成的组织病理伤害各有特点,但PM_(2.5)伤害程度普遍大于PM_(10)。染毒颗粒物粒径大小,其化学成分类别、浓度是造成大鼠血常规指标变化、氧化炎症反应和组织学病变的可能原因。     

Investigation of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among male kitchen workers in South India

Objective. This study aims to quantify the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and risks among male kitchen workers in the catering industry. Method. Data were collected with the help of the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire and by direct observations. Results. In total, 114 male kitchen workers from various hostels of a college in South India were considered for this study. The average age and mean years of employment of the workers are 26.4 (SD 7.7) and 7.8 respectively. The statistical analysis carried out reveals that 67.5% of male kitchen workers reported MSDs during the past 12 months. The highest prevalence rate has been found in the lower back (65.8%) and shoulder region (62.3%). Among different categories of kitchen work analyzed, it is evident that chief cooks suffer more from MSDs (79.2%) than assistant cooks (74.3%) and kitchen aides (30.0%). Workers in the older group, i.e., ≥41 years, and workers with 6–10 years of experience suffer with higher risk of MSDs, i.e., 93.9% and 87.5%, respectively. Conclusion. The male kitchen workers who participated in this research were found to possess both MSDs and ergonomic hazards.     

水稻DDB1基因的表达特性及功能分析

利用RNA干涉技术构建水稻DDB1(Damaged DNA binding protein 1)基因不同启动子驱动植物表达载体,DDB1-RNAi和DDB1-glu-RNAi.通过根癌农杆菌介导转入水稻愈伤,经组织培养成功获得转基因植株.半定量RT-PCR分析显示,与野生型植株相比,两组转基因植株幼叶内DDB1的表达量...     

Advertisement-call modification,male competition,and female preference in the bird-voiced treefrog <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hyla avivoca</Emphasis>

Senders and receivers influence dynamic characteristics of the signals used for mate attraction over different time scales. On a moment-to-moment basis, interactions among senders competing for a mate influence dynamic characteristics, whereas the preferences of receivers of the opposite gender exert an influence over evolutionary time. We observed and recorded the calling patterns of the bird-voiced treefrog Hyla avivoca to assess how the dynamic characters of calls vary during interactions among groups of males in a chorus. This question was also addressed using playback experiments with males. Playback experiments with females showed how changes in dynamic call properties are likely to affect male mating success. Frogs calling in pairs, groups, or in response to playbacks produced longer calls than did isolated males. During call overlap, males often increased the duration of the silent interval (gaps) between the pulses of their calls so that the pulses of the calls of two neighbors interdigitated. This change resulted in increased variability of pulse rate, a traditionally static acoustic property; however, males also produced high proportions of non-overlapped calls in which variability in pulse rate was low and had species-typical values. Females preferred long calls to short- and average-duration calls, and non-overlapped calls to overlapped calls. Given a choice between pairs of overlapped calls, females preferred pairs in which the proportion of overlap was low and pairs in which the pulses of such calls interdigitated completely. The observed patterns of vocal competition thus reflect the preferences of conspecific females, which have influenced the evolution of the calling behavior of H. avivoca. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Armaments and ornaments in the rock sparrow: a possible dual utility of a carotenoid-based feather signal

Females often base their mating preferences on male sexual secondary traits that are used to settle contests among males. Such traits are likely to be honest indicators of male quality if they are constantly used during costly male–male agonistic interactions. Carotenoid signals have been shown to work as a handicap because they are costly to produce. However, the role of carotenoids as “honest” signals during male contests is less clear, and it is not known whether a carotenoid-based trait can serve in both male–male competition and female choice. In this study, we studied the dual function of a carotenoid feather ornament in the rock sparrow (Petronia petronia), a bird species in which both sexes have a yellow throat patch whose size positively correlates with phenotypic measures. First, we investigated, in a field study, whether the size of a male’s yellow patch correlates with his ability to acquire a territory. Second, we tested the signal function of the yellow patch in two male–male interaction in captivity experiments. Finally, we measured female preference for males differing in throat patch size in a mate choice experiment. Our experiments revealed that the size of a male’s throat patch positively correlated with the number of nest boxes he was able to defend. Moreover, in controlled conditions, males with relatively large yellow patches had earlier access to food than those with small patches. Also, in an experiment in which a dummy rock sparrow with an experimentally manipulated yellow patch was positioned near a feeder, latency to feed by focal birds positively correlated with dummy patch size. Lastly, in a dichotomous mate choice experiment, females showed a proximity preference for males whose patch was experimentally enlarged. Taken together, these results suggest that the same carotenoid feather signal may be used in both male–male competition and female choice in this passerine bird.     

二氧化硫对大鼠肺泡巨噬细胞DNA的损伤作用

运用单细胞凝胶电泳技术(又称彗星实验)研究了SO2动式吸入对雄性Wistar大鼠肺泡巨噬细胞DNA的损伤作用。结果表明，在SO2浓度为28．6，57．3，114．4ms／m^3的动式吸入染毒条件下，雄性大鼠肺泡巨噬细胞DNA拖尾长度分别为7．59，12．39，21．22μm，表明SO2可引起大鼠肺泡巨噬细胞DNA损伤，且随SO2吸入浓度的增加而加剧，呈明确的剂量效应关系，这意味着SO2具有引起哺乳动物肺泡巨噬细胞DNA突变的潜在危险，会造成机体的非特异性吞噬功能和抗肿瘤免疫监视作用的损伤。     

A dynamic model of mating behavior in digger wasps: the energetics of male-male competition mimic size-dependent thermal constraints

I develop a state-based dynamic model of behavior to demonstrate that size-dependent differences in temperature tolerances are not necessary to account for the activity of small male digger wasps late in the day. In the model, males defend or patrol the nesting area, wait near nests, or feed away from the nesting area depending on time of day, energy reserves and size rank. I assume a large male competitive advantage, so mating opportunities decrease with size rank for territorial or patrolling males and are rare for all waiting males; the costs of patrolling or defense are higher than the costs of waiting. If energy reserves of all males are initially small, all males alternate feeding and territorial or patrolling behavior. If energy reserves are initially large, large males patrol or maintain territories until they risk starvation and leave the area to feed. At this time, smaller males that have conserved their resources by waiting and feeding may defend territories or patrol. I simulate the behavior of three populations representing two species of Microbembex by assuming large initial energy reserves for populations in which males were territorial and small initial reserves for populations in which males patrolled, and then convert the predicted time of activity to temperature using local regressions from field studies. Temporal patterns in the activity of large and small males were similar to those actually observed, and relationships between size and temperature predicted by the model corresponded to most observations and were sometimes positive. Thus, the delayed activity of smaller males does not correspond to activity at higher temperatures and is probably not attributable to size-dependent thermal tolerances, but may represent a temporal displacement of mating activity due to intra-sexual competition and mediated by energetics. The model makes testable predictions on the timing of feeding and depletion of energy reserves in relation to size and initial energy state, and suggests how differences among species may influence the temporal and spatial organization of male mating behavior. Received: 27 February 1997 / Accepted after revision: 26 July 1997     

Sex pheromone components of male <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tirathaba mundella</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Summary. During peak calling activity by male oil palm bunch moths, Tirathaba mundella Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), their hairpencils, wings or entire body were extracted in hexane. Gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses of hair pencil extracts revealed four compounds that consistently elicited responses from female antennae. The NMR spectrum of isolated compound 1, and mass spectra and retention indices of compounds 1–4 suggested that they were (3S,6S)-2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyl-tetrahydro-pyran-3-ol (1), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde (2, vanillin), 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (3), and 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanol (4). Comparative GC and GC-MS analyses of hair pencils extract and synthetic standards confirmed these structural assignments. Moreover, comparative chromatography of synthetic and hairpencil-isolated 1 on a Cyclodex-B column (which separated the four stereoisomers with baseline resolution) revealed that male T. mundella produce the SS-stereoisomer (SS-1). In field cage bioassay experiments in Palembang, Indonesia, synthetic SS-1 and vanillin in combination, but not singly, attracted female T. mundella. SS-1 plus vanillin were as effective as male T. mundella in attracting females. Compounds 3 and 4 did not enhance the blend's attractiveness. Received October 11 2002; accepted March 14, 2003. R1D=" Correspondence to: Gerhard Gries, email: gries@sfu.ca