Patterns of Fos-like immunoreactivity in the brains of parent ring doves (Streptopelia risoria) given tactile and nontactile exposure to their young.

Neuronal activation was examined by fos immunohistochemistry in ring doves (Streptopelia risoria) reunited with their young after overnight separation. In an initial study, squab-exposed parents showed more fos immunoreactivity (ir) in the preoptic area (POA) and lateral hypothalamus (LH) than squab-deprived parents. In a 2nd study, parents allowed free access to young and those separated from young by a wire mesh partition showed more fos-ir in the POA, LH, and lateral septum than box-exposed controls. Contact with young also increased fos-ir in the medial preoptic nucleus and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, but noncontact exposure did not. Conversely, nontactile squab exposure stimulated more fos-ir in the POA than did free access to young, which suggests POA involvement in appetitive aspects of parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semi-automated imaging system to quantitate estrogen and progesterone receptor immunoreactivity in human breast cancer

A semi‐automated imaging system is described to quantitate estrogen and progesterone receptor immunoreactivity in human breast cancer. The system works for any conventional method of image acquisition using microscopic slides that have been processed for immunohistochemical analysis of the estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor. Estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor immunohistochemical staining produce colorimetric differences in nuclear staining that conventionally have been interpreted manually by pathologists and expressed as percentage of positive tumoral nuclei. The estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status of human breast cancer represent important prognostic and predictive markers of human breast cancer that dictate therapeutic decisions but their subjective interpretation result in interobserver, intraobserver and fatigue variability. Subjective measurements are traditionally limited to a determination of percentage of tumoral nuclei that show positive immunoreactivity. To address these limitations, imaging algorithms utilizing both colorimetric (RGB) as well as intensity (gray scale) determinations were used to analyze pixels of the acquired image. Image acquisition utilized either scanner or microscope with attached digital or analogue camera capable of producing images with a resolution of 20 pixels /10 μ. Areas of each image were screened and the area of interest richest in tumour cells manually selected for image processing. Images were processed initially by JPG conversion of SVS scanned virtual slides or direct JPG photomicrograph capture. Following image acquisition, images were screened for quality, enhanced and processed. The algorithm‐based values for estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor percentage nuclear positivity both strongly correlated with the subjective measurements (intraclass correlation: 0.77; 95% confidence interval: 0.59, 0.95) yet exhibited no interobserver, intraobserver or fatigue variability. In addition the algorithms provided measurements of nuclear estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor staining intensity (mean, mode and median staining intensity of positive staining nuclei), parameters that subjective review could not assess. Other semi‐automated image analysis systems have been used to measure estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor immunoreactivity but these either have required proprietary hardware or have been based on luminosity differences alone. By contrast our algorithms were independent of proprietary hardware and were based on not just luminosity and colour but also many other imaging features including epithelial pattern recognition and nuclear morphology. These features provide a more accurate, versatile and robust imaging analysis platform that can be fully automated in the near future. Because of all these properties, our semi‐automated imaging system ‘adds value’ as a means of measuring these important nuclear biomarkers of human breast cancer.     

牛奶过敏原制备方法的研究和免疫活性鉴别

目的探索牛奶主要过敏原的制备工艺。方法采用等电点沉淀、凝胶层析和分子筛等技术纯化牛奶中主要过敏原组分;采用SDS-PAGE鉴定蛋白纯度,采用双抗原夹心-ELISA鉴定免疫活性。结果成功获得牛奶中的四种主要过敏原组分:酪蛋白、β乳球蛋白、α乳白蛋白和分子量较高的P1组分,并经过免疫实验证实这四种组分均能与过敏血清产生反应,而其中β乳球蛋白和P1组分反应性较高。结论本研究探索出一种简单、实用的牛奶主要过敏原制备工艺,并证实牛奶中的β乳球蛋白和高分子量蛋白质为主要过敏原。     

Correction to Chambers and Wang (2004).

Reports an error in the article "Role of the Lateral Parabrachial Nucleus in Apomorphine-Induced Conditioned Consumption Reduction: Cooling Lesions and Relationship of c-Fos-Like Immunoreactivity to Strength of Conditioning," by Kathleen C. Chambers and Yuan Wang (Behavioral Neuroscience, 2004, Vol 118 [No.1], pp. 199-213). In Table 1, the first line entry under the heading "Amount of sucrose consumed," subheading "E1-E8," now reads Apo1 2004-10963-021.) The following experiments were designed to determine whether the lateral parabrachial nucleus (lPBN) mediates acquisition of conditioned consumption reduction induced by apomorphine, an agent that also has reinforcing properties. Temporary cooling lesions of the PBN blocked acquisition of apomorphine-induced conditioned consumption reduction. In addition, both apomorphine and LiCl activated c-Fos-like immunoreactivity (c-FLI) in the central, external, and crescent lPBN, and there was a strong correspondence between amount of c-FLI expression and strength of conditioned consumption reduction in these subnuclei. Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that the lPBN mediates apomorphine-induced conditioned consumption reduction, as is true for LiCl. Furthermore, they raise the possibility that the specific part of the lPBN mediating this conditioning effect of apomorphine and LiCl is 1 of the 3 subnuclei. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

植物乳杆菌B02012对酸面团小麦蛋白结构和免疫特性的影响

本实验以植物乳杆菌（Lactobacillus plantarum）B02012和消化乳杆菌（Lactobacillus alimentarius）20998两株具有相近产酸速率和酸化性能的乳酸菌制备长时发酵酸面团（分别简称为SLB02012和SL20998）,并以传统酵母菌长时发酵酸面团（SY）和可食性有机酸化学酸化面团（SCA）为对照,通过十二烷基硫酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳（sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis,SDS-PAGE）、傅里叶变换红外光谱（Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer,FTIR）、内源性荧光扫描（intrinsic fluorescence scanning,IFS）、竞争性酶联免疫吸附测定（enzyme linked immunosorbent assay,ELISA）并结合层次聚类分析（agglomerative hierarchical clustering,AHC）等方法研究不同发酵面团中小麦蛋白分子二、三级结构及麦醇溶蛋白免疫性的变化和相关性。SDS-PAGE结果显示,乳杆菌的添加对降解面团蛋白质起主导作用;与面团SL20998相比,面团SLB02012的高分子质量麦谷蛋白及部分麦醇溶蛋白发生了更明显降解。FTIR和IFS进一步验证,面团SLB02012的蛋白分子柔韧性增加,α-螺旋含量下降最明显,α-螺旋含量/β-折叠含量的比值最小;面团SY、SLB02012和SYLB02012的λmax发生蓝移,而SL20998的λmax发生红移,蛋白质三级结构得到伸展。ELISA结果表明,对比空白组,面团SLB02012麦醇溶蛋白的免疫性下降了35%,且与面团SCA差异不显著,而SL20998麦醇溶蛋白的免疫性增加了29.5%。AHC结果表明,不同发酵条件获得的发酵面团中麦醇溶蛋白的二、三级结构及其免疫性呈现良好的聚类关系。本研究结果表明,植物乳杆菌B02012可作为制备低敏发酵制品的优势菌,为进一步深入研究乳酸菌降敏机理提供理论支撑。     

The pars intercerebralis of the locust brain: a developmental and comparative study.

The anterior midline of the brain, also known as the pars intercerebralis, contains the largest collection of neurosecretory cells in the central nervous system of the grasshopper. In this study, we use immunocytochemical, intracellular staining, and histological methods to establish the ontogenies of the various cell types in the brain midline, and show how these cells contribute to the pars intercerebralis of the adult brain. We show that the adult pars intercerebralis develops from three distinct embryonic cell groups: (1) the median neurosecretory cells, which derive from a subset of neuroblasts in the protocerebral hemispheres, and which project axons to the corpora cardiaca; (2) the paired primary commissure pioneers, which derive directly from the mesectoderm of the dorsal median domain and whose axons project to the ventral nerve cord via the midline tract; and (3) the six progeny of the median precursor in the dorsal median domain, which share a common axonal projection with the primary commissure pioneers. Since the adult pars intercerebralis is a fusion product of these independent cellular components, it can only be understood in terms of its origins in the embryonic brain. When the expression pattern of the TERM-1 antigen is compared in subsets of median neurosecretory cells in a wide range of insect orders, the results suggests a common organizational Bauplan for the pars intercerebralis. This hypothesis is supported by the identification of putative homologs of the grasshopper primary commissure pioneers in all these insects.     

超高压处理对苦杏仁分离蛋白结构和致敏性的影响

苦杏仁中含有多种生物活性组分和营养素,具有较高的营养价值,但苦杏仁具有致敏性,过敏人群食用含有苦杏仁的食品后可能会产生过敏的风险。为探究超高压处理对苦杏仁分离蛋白结构和致敏性的影响,对杏仁分离蛋白进行不同压力处理,并利用圆二色谱、外源荧光光谱和酶联免疫吸附实验对其空间结构和致敏性进行表征。结果表明：苦杏仁分离蛋白100~500 MPa压力处理苦杏仁分离蛋白900 s后,苦杏仁分离蛋白其二级结构未发生显著变化。随着压力强度和保压时间的增加,苦杏仁分离蛋白的三级结构展开,荧光强度增加,疏水性基团暴露,表面疏水性逐渐增大,致敏性显著降低。苦杏仁分离蛋白致敏性的降低,可能是苦杏仁的过敏原构象表位发生了变化。该研究结果对开发安全的苦杏仁食品和饮料具有重要意义。     

Estrogen and the neural mediation of female–male mounting in the rat.

Sexually receptive females mount sexually sluggish males to entice them to copulate, and estrogen and male olfactory cues mediate this female–male mounting (FMM) in the rat. This study examined whether brain regions that concentrate steroid hormones and receive olfactory projections were important for the mediation of FMM. Fos induction was observed within the medial amygdala, medial preoptic area, and ventromedial hypothalamus of ovariectomized, hormone-primed rats that displayed FMM compared with rats that did not. Excitotoxic lesions of those regions eliminated FMM, whereas implants of crystalline estradiol benzoate to the ventromedial hypothalamus, but not the medial preoptic area or medial amygdala, restored FMM. These data indicate that the ventromedial hypothalamus is a critical area of convergence of hormonal, olfactory, and somatosensory inputs for FMM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)