由“家”到“国”:论香港电影《刺马》与《投名状》的“兄弟”观

香港著名导演张彻和陈可辛根据晚清著名的刺马案拍摄了电影《刺马》和《投名状》,这两部相隔了34年的电影对于兄弟情谊的描述体现了香港导演对于中国大历史的不同态度,这种差异是当代香港电影发生转型的一个重要缩影。

毁灭之欲:《刺马》的“死本能”分析

以弗洛伊德"死本能"理论对《刺马》展开分析,认为其中主要人物在各自杀戮行为中包含了自我毁灭倾向,且被不可抗力量推动,最终回到死亡的原初状态。进而将研究视野拓展到张彻电影序列中,认为其中大量的鲜血与死亡景观是对角色"死本能"的符号化呈现。

EFFECT OF ELECTROACUPUNCTURE ON SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY OF HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS IN CEREBRAL ISCHEMIA RATS

Objective: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on synaptic structure of hippocampal nerve felts and synaptophysin(SYN)expression in rats with cerebral ischemic injury. Methods: Sixty Wistar rats were randomized into sham-operation group, cerebral ischemia (CI) group and EA group, each of which was further divided into 1week (W) and 5W subgroups. CI injury model was established by occlusion of the bilateral common carotid arteries. 'Baihui'(百会 GV 20), 'Dazhui' (大椎 GV 14), 'Renzhong'(人中 GV 26) and 'Guangyuan'(关会 CV 4) were punctured and stimulated electrically. The brain tissue sections containing hippocampus region were stained with immu nohistochemical technique and observed under light microscope and transmission electronic microscope. Results: After CI, the ischemic injury as degeneration of the presynapse compositions, decrease of the synaptic numeral density, and low expression of SYN were observed in hippocampal CA1 area. By the 5th week after CI, the neonatal synapses of Cl and EA groups appeared, and SYN expression was upregulated. In EA group, the recovery of the numeral density of synapses was especially noticeable, being 93.8% of that of sham-operation group and significantly higher than that in Cl group (P<0.01). Compared with sham-operation group, the calibrated optical density (COD) values of SYN increased to 70% in CI group, and 93.3% in EA group, and COD value in EA group was significantly higher than that in Cl group (P<0.01). Conclusion: EA can function in promoting synaptic regeneration and enhancing and perfecting the actions of the reconstructed synapses in hippocampal CA1 area in Cl rats.

The effect of depression on the thermal nociceptive thresholds in rats with spontaneous pain

Objective Recently,there has been growing interest in the interaction between depressive disorders and pain.The purpose of this study was to examine whether depression would lead to a decreased sensitivity to noxious stimuli in rats with spontaneous pain.Methods The olfactory bulbectomized rats were used as a model of depression.The depression-like behaviors were assessed by open field test and changes in body weight.Formalin solution was injected into the rat hindpaw to produce ongoing pain.Noxious thermal stimuli were applied onto the hindpaw contralateral to formalin injection,and the withdrawal thresholds were measured.Results In non-depressive rats,the formalin-treated paw developed hypoalgesia to noxious stimuli while the contralateral paw was not affected.The depressive rats,however,showed a significantly lower sensitivity to noxious thermal stimulus,represented as higher withdrawal thresholds of the contralateral paw,when compared to the non-depressive rats.Conclusion These results demonstrate that depression can alleviate the stimulus-evoked pain even in the context of formalin inflammatory pain,consistent with the previous clinical observations that patients suffering from both depression and persistent pain have decreased sensitivities to noxious experimental stimuli.

Origin of Taiwan Canyon and its effects on deepwater sediment

The continental slope of the Taiwan Shoal, which has cultivated numerous submarine canyons, is located in a passive conti- nental margin environment. However, the trend of the Taiwan Canyon, with its 45° intersection angle, is obviously different from that of the erosion valley downward along the continental slope. A distinct break is present in the lower segment of the Taiwan Canyon, which then extends from west to east parallel to the continental slope until finally joining the Manila Trench. By utilizing multiple-beam water depth data, high-resolution seismic data, and sediment cores, this study describes the topo- graphic characteristics of the Taiwan Canyon and provides a preliminary discussion on the origin of the Taiwan Canyon and its effect on deepwater sediment. The terrain, landform, and sediment of the Taiwan Canyon exhibit segmentation characteristics. The upper segment is characterized primarily by erosion, downward cutting with a V shape, and wide development of sliding, slumping, and other gravity flow types. The middle segment is characterized mostly by U-shaped erosion-sedimentation transi- tion and development of an inner levee. The lower segment is characterized primarily by sedimentation and development of a sediment wave. The bottom current has a significant reworking effect on the interior sediments of the canyon and forms re- worked sands. The formation and evolution of the Taiwan Canyon is closely related to sediment supply, gravity sliding （slumping）, faulting activities, and submarine impaling. Given the sufficient terrigenous clastic supply, the sediments along the continental shelf edge continuously proceed seaward; gliding and slumping in the front edge provide driving forces for the formation of the canyon. Faulting activities result in stratum crushing, and the gravity flow takes priority in eroding the relatively fragile stratum. Thus, the direction of the extension of the canyon crosses the surrounding erosion valley obliquely. Seamounts are formed through submarine impaling. Owing to seamount blocking, the lower segment of the canyon is turned toward the east-west direction. Large amounts of sediments overflow at the turning, formin~ sediment waves.

Anti-depression effects of electroacupuncture through up-regulating serum E_2 and BDNF and expression of BDNF in hippocampus in chronic depression rats

Objective：To investigate the effects of electroacupuncture （EA） at acupoints Baihui （GV 20）, Neiguan （PC 6） and Sanyinjiao （SP 6） on the levels of estradiol （E2） and brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） in serum, as well as the expression of BDNF in hippocampus in chronic depression rat models. Methods：Thirty female Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups, including a normal control （NC） group, a model group and an EA group, 10 rats in each group. The depression model was established by using chronic unpredicted mild stress （CUMS）, such as cold-water swimming, tail clamping, electric shock to foot, etc., combined with individual caging for 21 d. Rats in the model group and EA group were randomly exposed to one of the 9 stressors each day and caged individually. After modeling, rats in the EA group were then treated with EA at Baihui （GV 20）, Neiguan （PC 6） and Sanyinjiao （SP 6） once daily for 14 d, and the model group was not treated with EA but bounded in the same way as the EA group. Serum E2 was measured by radioimmunoassay and BDNF was assessed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） and the expression of BDNF in hippocampus was detected by using immunohistochemistry. Results：After the stress stimulation, compared with the NC group, the model group and EA group showed a significant reduction of sucrose preference rate （P〈0.01） and remarkable increase of forced-swimming immobility time （P〈0.01）. In addition, EA significantly reduced the depression-like behavior of rats in the EA group （P〈0.01）. The expressions of E2 and BDNF in serum as well as the expression of BDNF in hippocampus were remarkably lower in the model rats than those in the NC group （P〈0.01,P〈0.01,P〈0.05）. The expression of BDNF in rats’ serum and hippocampus in the EA group was significantly higher than that in the model group （P〈0.05）, while serum E2 increased but insignificantly （P〉0.05）. Conclusion：E2 and BDNF may contribute to the depression-like behaviors of the rats during CUMS period. EA may exert its anti-depression effects through promoting BDNF expression in serum and hippocampus.

Effects of acupuncture plus medication on hippocampus SIRT1 and FOXO3a expression,MDA content,and SOD activity of rats with Alzheimer disease

Objective To observe the effect of the acupuncture plus medication on the expression of silent information regulator of transcription 1(SIRT1)and transcription factor forkhead box protein O3a(FOXO3a)in the hippocampus,the malondialdehyde(MDA)content,and the superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity of rats with Alzheimer disease(AD),and to explore the possible mechanism of combining acupuncture and medication in improving AD-related neurological symptoms.Methods Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into a normal group,a model group,an electroacupuncture(EA)group,a drug group,and an acupuncture-medication combined group by the random number table method,with 12 rats in each group.The model was established by micro-injection of streptozotocin into the bilateral lateral ventricles.After successful modeling,rats in the EA group received EA at Zusanli(ST36)and Dazhui(GV14),those in the drug group received intragastric administration of resveratrol at a dose of 44 mg/(kg·bw),and those in the acupuncture-medication combined group received the combined intervention of EA and resveratrol.Rats in each group received intervention once a day for 4 consecutive weeks.Morris water maze was used to detect the rat behavioral changes.Nissl staining method was used to observe the cell morphology and changes in the number of rat hippocampal neurons.Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining methods were used to observe the expression changes of SIRT1 and FOXO3a.The thiobarbituric acid method was used to detect the MDA content.SOD activity was determined by the hydroxylamine method.Results Compared with the normal group,the escape latency was significantly prolonged(P<0.05);the percentage of stay in the target quadrant was reduced(P<0.05),the hippocampal neuronal cells were shrunken,nucleoli were unclear,and cell number was reduced(P<0.05);the SIRT1 expression and SIRT1 positive cell number were decreased,while the FOXO3a expression and FOXO3a positive cell number were increased significantly(P<0.05);the MDA content was increased significantly,and the SOD activity was decreased significantly(P<0.05)in the model group.Compared with the model group,the escape latency was shortened(P<0.05);the percentage of stay in the target quadrant was increased(P<0.05);the shape and number of hippocampal neurons tended to be normal(P<0.05);the SIRT1 protein expression and the SIRT1 positive cell numbers were increased,the FOXO3a protein expression and the FOXO3a positive cell number were decreased(P<0.05);the MDA content was significantly decreased,and the SOD activity was significantly increased(P<0.05)in the EA group,the drug group,and the acupuncture-medication combined group.The changes in the acupuncture-medication combined group were more obvious(P<0.05).Conclusion Both EA and resveratrol improve the learning and memory ability of AD rats by regulating the expression of SIRT1 and FOXO3a and improving the levels of MDA and SOD in the hippocampus and protect the hippocampal neurons,while the combined use of EA and medication is more effective than EA or resveratrol alone,suggesting that this combined treatment is more effective in AD treatment.