Cardio-respiratory measures following isocapnic voluntary hyperventilation

In some individuals, breathing is greater than at rest following voluntary hyperventilation. Most previous investigations have employed short hyperventilation periods; here we examine the time course of cardio-respiratory measures before, during, and after a 5-min voluntary hyperventilation, maintaining isocapnia throughout. We examined the possible co-involvement of the cardiovascular system; hypothesising that post-hyperventilation hyperpnoea results from an increase in autonomic arousal. In four subjects (two males, two females) of 18 (nine males, nine females) we observed a post-hyperventilation hyperpnoea, characterised by a slow decline of ventilation toward resting levels with a time constant of 109.0 +/- 16.1s. By contrast, heart rate, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were unchanged from rest during and after voluntary hyperventilation for all subjects. We concluded that males and females were equally likely to exhibit post-hyperventilation hyperpnoea, and suggest that they may be characterised by an increased resting heart rate and the choice of breathing frequency to increase ventilation during the voluntary hyperventilation. We further concluded that post-hyperventilation hyperpnoea is rare, but when present is a strong and lasting phenomenon, and that it is not the result of an increased autonomic arousal.     

脑内高表达microRNAs的时空效应及其在神经管缺陷中的可能作用

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to play an important role in regulating the cell proliferation, differentiation and organogenesis. Abnormal expression of miRNAs is associated with increased risk for various diseases, such as neural tube defects (NTD), which is a severe developmental disease as the result of closing the neural tube incompletely or too early. The present review summarizes some enriched miRNAs in the brain of mammals and their spatial temporal feature, and tries to elaborate the relationship between the aberrant expression of miRNAs and the pathogenesis of NTD.     

The avian and mammalian host range of highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza

Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses have been isolated from a number of avian and mammalian species. Despite intensive control measures the number of human and animal cases continues to increase. A more complete understanding of susceptible species and of contributing environmental and molecular factors is crucial if we are to slow the rate of new cases. H5N1 is currently endemic in domestic poultry in only a handful of countries with sporadic and unpredictable spread to other countries. Close contact of terrestrial bird or mammalian species with infected poultry/waterfowl or their biological products is the major route for interspecies transmission. Intra-species transmission of H5N1 in mammals, including humans, has taken place on a limited scale though it remains to be seen if this will change; recent laboratory studies suggest that it is indeed possible. Here we review the avian and mammalian species that are naturally susceptible to H5N1 infection and the molecular factors associated with its expanded host range.     

云南香格里拉山地自然风景区蚤类多样性的研究

蚤类是传播多种自然疫源性疾病的重要媒介昆虫,人类在自然风景区户外活动时存在被其叮咬而感染虫媒传染病的风险。为了解云南香格里拉县主要山地自然风景区蚤类的多样性状况,2005年秋,我们选择了虎跳峡、哈巴雪山、白水台、千湖山和红山5个不同海拔高度的自然风景区为调查研究的空间范围,应用夹线法捕小型兽类并收集其体表寄生蚤类进行调查取样,对蚤类多样性、群落相似性和蚤类与宿主关系进行了测度和比较研究。结果显示：（1）共捕获蚤类633只,隶属4科19属34种,其中发现云南省1新纪录属及种（喜马狭蚤Stenoponiahimalayana）,当地新纪录蚤类10种（亚种）,显示当地山地自然风景区内蚤种丰富;（2）红山和千湖山景区蚤种丰富度较高（各18种）和物种多样性也较高（分别为2．50和2．18）,而虎跳峡景区捕获的蚤类丰富度（8种）和物种多样性指数（1．79）最低,蚤类物种丰富度和Shannon—Wienor指数均随着景区海拔的升高呈递增趋势;（3）综合分析Jaccard指数和聚类分析的结果,5个风景区被划为虎跳峡-哈巴雪山-白水台、千湖山-红山两个类型,相对植被和水湿条件而言,人为干扰或是导致这一结果更重要的原因;（4）5个自然风景区蚤类群落与宿主群落丰富度的Spearman秩相关系数为0．24,Shannon—Wiener指数的Spearman秩相关系数为0．60,显示5个景区的蚤类多样性与宿主多样性无相关。     

Friction and lubrication of pleural tissues

The frictional behaviour of rabbit's visceral pleura sliding against parietal pleura was assessed in vitro while oscillating at physiological velocities and amplitudes under physiological normal forces. For sliding velocities up to 3 cm s(-1) and normal compressive loads up to 12 cm H2O, the average value of the coefficient of kinetic friction (mu) was constant at 0.019 +/- 0.002 (S.E.) with pleural liquid as lubricant. With Ringer-bicarbonate solution, mu was still constant, but significantly increased (Deltamu = 0.008 +/- 0.001; P < 0.001). Under these conditions, no damage of the sliding pleural surfaces was found on light and electron microscopy. Additional measurements, performed also on peritoneum, showed that changes in nominal contact area or strain of the mesothelia, temperature in the range 19-39 degrees C, and prolonged sliding did not affect mu. Gentle application of filter paper increased mu approximately 10-fold and irreversibly, suggesting alteration of the mesothelia. With packed the red blood cells (RBC) between the sliding mesothelia, mu increased appreciably but reversibly on removal of RBC suspension, whilst no ruptures of RBC occurred. In conclusion, the results indicate a low value of sliding friction in pleural tissues, partly related to the characteristics of the pleural liquid, and show that friction is independent of velocity, normal load, and nominal contact area, consistent with boundary lubrication.     

Tongue mechanical characteristics and genioglossus muscle EMG in obstructive sleep apnoea patients

The increased genioglossus muscle (GGm) activity seen in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) may lead to increased fatigability or longer recovery time of the tongue. Maximal force, endurance, and recovery times of the tongue, electromyogram (EMG) absolute value, and EMG spectral analysis of the GGm obtained during submaximal contractions were compared in eight individuals without chronic snoring and eight OSAS patients. Endurance time values were not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.40). Time to recovery of initial maximal force was significantly greater in the OSAS group (P = 0.01). Final EMG median frequency was significantly higher (P = 0.01) and the final low-frequency EMG component smaller in the OSAS patients (P = 0.02). Patients did not have changes in endurance time or fatigability but had longer recovery times and changes in spectral analysis variations. This functional investigation may be helpful in determining the presence of OSAS and the potential contribution of the tongue to pharyngeal obstruction.     

Numerical simulation of respiratory flow patterns within human lung

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling approach is used to study the unsteady respiratory airflow dynamics within a human lung. The three-dimensional asymmetric bifurcation model of the central airway based on the morphological data given by Horsfield et al. (J. Appl. Physiol. 67 (1971) 207) was used in the present study to simulate the oscillatory respiratory. The single bifurcation was found to be sufficient to give a number of results which both qualitatively and quantitatively agreed well with other published experimental and CFD results. Numerical simulation were made for two breathing conditions: (a) resting or normal breathing condition and (b) maximal exercise condition. The respiratory flow results for the both conditions are found strongly dependent on the convective effect and the viscous effect with some contribution of the unsteadiness effect. The secondary motions were stronger for the normal breathing condition as compared with the maximal exercise condition. The difference between the two cases is the flow separation regions found close to the carinal ridge for maximal exercise condition. For normal breathing condition no separation regions was observed in this region.     

5-HT at hypoglossal motor nucleus and respiratory control of genioglossus muscle in anesthetized rats

Serotonin (5-HT) from medullary raphe neurons excites hypoglossal motoneurons innervating genioglossus (GG) muscle. Since some raphe neurons also show increased activity in hypercapnia, we tested the hypothesis that serotonergic mechanisms at the hypoglossal motor nucleus (HMN) modulate GG activity and responses to CO2. Seventeen urethane-anesthetized, tracheotomized and vagotomized rats were studied. Microdialysis probes were used to deliver mianserin (5-HT receptor antagonist, 0 and 0.1 mM) or 5-HT (eight doses, 0-50 mM) to the HMN during room air or CO2-stimulated breathing. Mianserin decreased respiratory-related GG activity during room air and CO2-stimulated breathing (P<0.001), and also suppressed GG responses to CO2 (P=0.05). In contrast, GG activity was increased by 5-HT at the HMN, and was further increased in hypercapnia (P<0.02). However, 5-HT increased respiratory-related GG activity at levels lower (1 mM) than those eliciting tonic GG activity (10-30 mM 5-HT). The results show that 5-HT at the HMN contributes to the respiratory control of GG muscle.     

Mitogenic signaling pathways in airway smooth muscle

Increased airway smooth muscle mass has been demonstrated in patients with asthma, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and most recently, cystic fibrosis. These observations emphasize the need for further knowledge of the events involved in airway smooth muscle mitogenesis and hypertrophy. Workers in the field have developed cell culture systems involving tracheal and bronchial myocytes from different species. An emergent body of literature indicates that mutual signal transduction pathways control airway smooth muscle cell cycle entry across species lines. This article reviews what is known about mitogen-activated signal transduction in airway myocytes. The extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) pathways appear to be key positive regulators of airway smooth muscle mitogenesis; recent studies have also demonstrated specific roles for reactive oxygen and the JAK/STAT pathway. It is also possible that growth factor stimulation of airway smooth muscle concurrently elicits signaling through negative regulatory intermediates such as p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and protein kinase C (PKC) delta, conceivably as a defense against extreme growth.     

Fetal lung development in the elephant reflects the adaptations required for snorkeling in adult life

The adult elephant is unique among mammals in that the pleural membranes are thickened and the pleural cavity is obliterated by connective tissue. It has been suggested that this peculiar anatomy developed because the animal can snorkel at depth, and this behavior subjects the microvessels in the parietal pleura to a very large transmural pressure. To investigate the development of the parietal pleura, the thickness of the endothoracic fascia (ET) was measured in four fetal African elephants of approximate gestational age 111-130 days, and the appearances were compared with those in human, rabbit, rat and mouse fetuses of approximately the same stage of lung organogenesis. The mean thicknesses of ET in the elephant, human, rabbit, rat and mouse were 403, 53, 29, 27 and 37 microm, respectively. This very early development of a thick parietal pleura in the elephant fetus is consistent with the hypothesis of a long history of snorkeling in the elephant's putative aquatic ancestors.