Immunohistochemical mapping of galanin-like neurons in the rat central nervous system

Using an antiserum generated in rabbits against synthetic galanin (GA) and the indirect immunofluorescence method, the distribution of GA-like immunoreactive cell bodies and nerve fibers was studied in the rat central nervous system (CNS) and a detailed stereotaxic atlas of GA-like neurons was prepared. GA-like immunoreactivity was widely distributed in the rat CNS. Appreciable numbers of GA-positive cell bodies were observed in the rostral cingulate and medial prefrontal cortex, the nucleus interstitialis striae terminalis, the caudate, medial preoptic, preoptic periventricular, and preoptic suprachiasmatic nuclei, the medial forebrain bundle, the supraoptic, the hypothalamic periventricular, the paraventricular, the arcuate, dorsomedial, perifornical, thalamic periventricular, anterior dorsal and lateral thalamic nuclei, medial and central amygdaloid nuclei, dorsal and ventral premamillary nuclei, at the base of the hypothalamus, in the central gray matter, the hippocampus, the dorsal and caudoventral raphe nuclei, the interpeduncular nucleus, the locus coeruleus, ventral parabrachial, solitarii and commissuralis nuclei, in the A1, C1 and A4 catechaolamine areas, the posterior area postrema and the trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia. Fibers were generally seen where cell bodies were observed. Very dense fiber bundles were noted in the septohypothalamic tract, the preoptic area, in the hypothalamus, the habenula and the thalamic periventricular nucleus, in the ventral hippocampus, parts of the reticular formation, in the locus coeruleus, the dorsal parabrachial area, the nucleus and tract of the spinal trigeminal area and the substantia gelatinosa, the superficial layers of the spinal cord and the posterior lobe of the pituitary. The localization of the GA-like immunoreactivity in the locus coeruleus suggests a partial coexistence with catecholaminergic neurons as well as a possible involvement of the GA-like peptide in a neuroregulatory role.     

外源脯氨酸对镉胁迫下小麦幼苗生长的影响

以高蛋白小麦品种“北农9549”为试材,研究喷施不同浓度脯氨酸(0、1.0、5.0和10.0 mmol·L^-1)对镉胁迫下小麦幼苗生长和重金属吸收的影响.结果表明： 以不施镉为对照,1.0 mmol·L^-1CdCl₂胁迫下,小麦幼苗的根长、株高和干质量分别显著下降24.0%、15.0%和27.5%,叶绿素a、b和类胡萝卜素含量分别显著下降23.3%、6.7%和30.8%,超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性降低了18.4%,内源脯氨酸、抗坏血酸和丙二醛(MDA)含量分别显著上升78.6%、31.5%和17.9%,细胞膜相对透性显著升高24.8%,过氧化物酶(POD)活性为对照的2.4倍,并且促进对铜的吸收,抑制锌的吸收.随外源脯氨酸浓度的增加,小麦幼苗的根长、株高、干质量、叶绿素和类胡萝卜素含量均逐渐恢复到对照水平,抗坏血酸、内源游离脯氨酸含量和SOD活性均上升,可溶性蛋白含量先上升后下降,POD活性、MDA含量和细胞膜相对透性下降,而锌积累量升高,镉、铜积累量下降.叶面喷施外源脯氨酸可缓解镉对小麦幼苗生长的胁迫,以喷施5.0～10.0 mmol·L^-1外源脯氨酸效果最佳.     

Functional and clinical significance of the architecture of human skeletal muscles

The architectural properties of the triceps surae muscle were studied in vivo in groups of healthy subjects (eight men) and patients with locomotor function disorders (four men and four women) with the ankle joint positioned at a plantar flexion 0° and the knee set at 90° (neutral position). In this position, using ultrasonic scanning, longitudinal ultrasonic images of the medial gastrocnemius (MG), lateral gastrocnemius (LG), and soleus (Sol) muscles were obtained when the subject was relaxed (the passive state) or performed isometric plantar flexion (50% of the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), the active state). The fascicle lengths, fascicle angles, and muscle thickness were determined. In the passive state, the fascicle lengths of the MG, LG, and Sol muscles in the group of healthy subjects were 33, 35, and 30 mm and the pennation angle, 25°, 19°, and 25°; in the group of patients with motor disorders, 38, 39, and 29 mm and 21°, 19°, and 24°, respectively. The MG, LG, and Sol thicknesses in the group of healthy subjects were 15, 13, and 12 mm, and in the group of patients with motor disorders, 14, 12, and 14 mm, respectively. In the active state (50% of the MVC), the MG, LG, and Sol fiber lengths in the group of healthy subjects shortened by 31, 24, and 18%; the fiber pennation angle increased by 60, 41, and 41%, respectively. In the group of patients with motor disorders, the fiber lengths shortened by 28, 14, and 18% and the fiber pennation angle decreased by 28, 26, and 36%, respectively. The MG, LG, and Sol thicknesses in the group of healthy subjects increased by 9, 22, and 18%, while in the group of patients with motor disorders the thickness decreased by 4% in the MG and increased by 11 and 4% in the LG and Sol muscles, respectively. Different fiber lengths and pennation angles and their changes upon contraction might be related to differences in the force-producing capabilities of the muscles and the viscoelastic properties of muscle tendons and aponeuroses.     

Comparative histochemical distribution of glycogen and alkaline phosphatases in the placenta

Summary The distribution of glycogen, non-specific alkaline phosphatase, and specific phosphatases acting on adenosine monophosphate, adenosine triphosphate, inosine triphosphate, thiamine pyrophosphate, uridine diphosphate, fructose-6-phosphate, fructose-1:6-diphosphate, and glucose-6-phosphate is described in the placentae and accessory structures of the horse, sheep, cat, dog, ferret, rat, rabbit, guinea pig, and man, and in the yolk-sac of the chick, the oviviparous fish Limia maculata, and man.Correlation between the distribution of these substances and placental function is sought, and the results are discussed with respect to the trophoblast, decidua, giant cells, yolk-sac, non-placental chorion and maternal epithelium and uterine secretion, and allantois. The significance of the presence of the enzymes in the carnivore interstitial matrix, the ferret thickened endoderm and the rodent spongy zone is also considered.     

Characterization of suspended solids in Lake Biwa by measuring their elemental composition of Al,Si, P,S, K,Ca, Ti,Mn, and Fe

We investigated the concentrations of particulate Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, and Fe at various areas of Lake Biwa, such as the limnetic zone in the northern basin, the offshore zone, the dredged area and Akanoi Bay in the southern basin, and reed community areas in the shore. In the wide and deep northern basin, the density of suspended solids was low, and substantial fractions of particulate Si, P, S, and Ca were biogenic matter produced by phytoplankton. In the offshore zone in the narrow and shallow southern basin, the concentration ratios of particulate Si, K, Ca, Ti, and Fe against particulate Al were almost constant throughout the year and were similar to those found in crusts. Therefore, these elements are most likely derived from terrigenous clay matter. In the dredged area where the hypolimnion became anoxic during the stratification period, the concentrations of particulate Fe, Mn, P, S, and Ca increased because of the formation of hydrous Fe and Mn oxides and Fe sulfide. In Akanoi Bay, the ratios of Mn/Al and Fe/Al were high because of the stirring of sediments enriched with Mn and Fe oxides. In the reed community areas, the concentration of suspended solids correlated well with particulate Fe and P, but not with Al or chlorophyll a; therefore these areas seem to be rich in humic organic matter enriched with P and Fe due to microbial activity. Thus, the elemental composition of suspended solids reflects the chemical, biological, and physical processes in the lake and gives us useful indices of the characteristics of the water. Received: February 5, 2001 / Accepted: August 28, 2001     

Cuban Calisto (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae), a review based on morphological and DNA data

The Cuban species of Calisto are reviewed based on the morphology of adult and immature stages, as well as DNA sequences of six genes (COI, EF1α, wingless, GAPDH, RpS5, CAD). A new species, Calisto occultasp. n., is described from the northeastern Cuban mountains. Calisto smintheus Bates, 1935 and Calisto bruneri, Michener 1949 are revised and revalidated. A new status, the species level, is proposed for Calisto brochei, Torre 1973, Calisto muripetens, Bates 1939 and Calisto bradleyi, Munroe 1950. The immature stages of Calisto smintheus, Calisto brochei,and Calisto occulta are described for the first time, and those of Calisto herophile, Hübner 1823 are redescribed. Useful morphological characters for adults are the shape and conspicuousness of androconial patch, the number and relative size of white dots on underside of hindwing, the shape of aedeagus, the shape of digitiform projection of genitalia valve, the shape and relative size of tegumen and uncus, the relative size of female genitalia, the height of sterigmal ring dorsal crown of the latter, and the relative size of corpus bursae and ductus bursae. For the immature stages, the most important characters are the color pattern of head capsule, the number and width of longitudinal lines of body, in the larvae; and the color pattern and the absence or presence of dorsal ridges on the abdomen of pupae. The phylogenetic relationships between the Cuban Calisto species are quite robust and well-supported; however, conflict between mitochondrial and nuclear datasets was detected in Calisto brochei, Calisto muripetens and to a lesser degree in Calisto bradleyi.     

Drivers of human development: How relationships and context shape learning and development1

ABSTRACT

This article synthesizes knowledge on the role of relationships and key macroand micro-contexts - poverty, racism, families, communities, schools, and peers - in supporting and/or undermining the healthy development of children and youth, using a relational developmental systems framework. Relationships with parents, siblings, peers, caregivers, and teachers are explored in the context of early care and childhood settings, schools, classrooms, and school-based interventions. Additional contextual factors include; chronic stress, institutionalized racism, stereotype threat, and racial identity. A companion article focuses on how the human brain develops, and the major constructs that define human development, the constructive nature of development, and the opportunities for resilience. Human development occurs through reciprocal coactions between the individual and their contexts and culture, with relationships as the key drivers. Relationships and contexts, along with how children appraise and interpret them, can be risks and assets for healthy learning and development, and their influence can be seen across generations and can produce intra- as well as intergenerational assets and risks. This knowledge about the individual’s responsiveness to context and experience has both positive and negative implications across early childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. Sensitive periods for brain growth and development are considered within the contextual factors that influence development including; parental responsiveness and attunement, intentional skill development, mindfulness, reciprocal interactions, adversity, trauma, and enriching opportunities. The accumulated knowledge on human development and the power of context and culture can inform child-serving systems that support positive adaptations, resilience, learning, health, and well-being.     

河岸带生态系统植被与土壤对水文变化的响应研究进展

河岸带的植被与土壤是生态系统重要组成部分,对于维持河岸带的生态健康、生态系统服务与可持续性具有至关重要的作用。水文变化是河岸带生态系统的首要干扰因子,系统总结了水文变化对河岸带植被的特征以及植被形态、群落分布、繁殖、生存策略的影响,并阐述了河岸带水文和植被对土壤氮磷迁移转化的影响机制。根系作为土壤与植物地上部分之间物质、能量流动与信号传导的关键纽带,目前对根系的研究还较欠缺,需要加强水文变化对河岸带湿地植物根系形态、结构、功能特征的影响机理研究,以及湿地植物对水文变化的适应机制和耐受阈值方面的探究。在微观方面,应加强水文变化与植被等多因素耦合对土壤氮磷迁移转化过程的机理研究。河流形态和土壤的多样性决定着河岸带水文作用特征的复杂性,今后需注重河岸带个性特征与水文响应的关系研究。河岸带是横向的水陆生态过渡带和河流上下游的纵向生态廊道,亟需综合考虑和模拟流域土壤、植被与水文、人类活动之间的耦合关系,预测未来气候与社会经济情境下的河岸带生态系统演变规律,为河岸带生态系统的生态调节、生物多样性保护与生态恢复等提供理论依据与技术支撑。     

异丙托溴铵与布地奈德对COPD合并Ⅱ型呼吸衰竭患者MDA,SOD,GSH-Px水平及肺功能的影响

目的:探讨异丙托溴铵联合布地奈德对慢性阻塞性肺疾病合并Ⅱ型呼吸衰竭患者MDA、SOD、GSH-Px水平及肺功能的影响。方法:选取我院收治的慢性阻塞性肺疾病合并Ⅱ型呼吸衰竭患者92例,分为对照组和实验组,每组各46例。对照组采用常规治疗,实验组在对照组基础上加用异丙托溴铵溶液联合布地奈德雾化吸入治疗。观察并比较两组患者治疗前后MDA、SOD及GSH-Px水平的变化情况以及肺功能和血气指标的改善情况。结果:与治疗前比较,两组患者治疗后SOD、GSH-Px、FEV1、VC、Pa O2明显升高,而MDA、RV、TLC、Pa CO2明显降低(P0.05);与对照组比较,实验组治疗后SOD、GSH-Px、FEV1、VC、Pa O2明显升高,而MDA、RV、TLC、Pa CO2明显降低(P0.05)。结论:异丙托溴铵联合布地奈德能够改善慢性阻塞性肺疾病合并Ⅱ型呼吸衰竭患者的肺功能参数、血气指标和MDA、SOD、GSH-Px水平,增强机体抗氧化功能,提高临床疗效。     

Apertures of Craniate offactory Organs

The olfactory organs of craniates appear to derive from an anterior pair of erstwhile branchiothyria and their adjacent epidermal, neurogenic placodes. The organ is termed saccus nasalis if its source is the ectobranchial invagination of the branchiothyrium, and the saccus rhinalis if its source is the entobranchial evagination of the branchiothyrium. Nasal sacs occur in gnathostomes and lampreys, and rhinal sacs in hagfish. It is difficult, therefore, to avoid the conclusion that the olfactory organ has evolved more than once. The rhinal sac has only one aperture, the postica, which represents an internal branchiothyric orifice. Partial fusion of the right and the left rhinal sac led to the development of a postica communis. The nasal sac has either one, two or three apertures. Altogether there are nine different aperturae sacci nasalis, viz. the naris, the foris, the tremiscus, the two nariculae, the rimilla, the portula, the opiscus and the janua. The janua represents an external branchiothyric orifice and occurs in lampreys. The naris and the foris arose by subdivision of the orifice from which the janua emanated; they are found in osteolepipods. The naris is also found in urodeles, porolepiforms and some teleosts. The incurrent and excurrent naricules resulted from bipartition of a naris and are present in actinopterygians, coelacanthiforms, brachiopterygians, dipnoans and elasmobranchiomorphs. Of the four remaining openings of the nasal sacs the rimilla results from an inpushing of the epidermis, the portula from an outpocketing of the nasal sac, and the tremiscus from a combination of two such movements, the one inward and the other outward. Rimillae occur in cyprinodonts, anurans, urodeles, caecilians and porolepiforms, portulae in uranoscopids and bathydraconids, and tremisci in urodeles and porolepiforms. The opiscus, finally, is the opening through which the vomeronasal organ communicates with the oral cavity. It occurs in most lizards and snakes and probably also in some mammals.     

留茬方式对小麦间作玉米产量和水分利用效率的影响

小麦/玉米间作是河西绿洲灌区主要间作模式,但传统间作和套种需水量大,使该地区水资源紧张.2010年在甘肃河西走廊石羊河绿洲灌区进行大田试验,研究传统小麦秸秆焚烧、秸秆翻还和秸秆立茬3种留茬方式对小麦/玉米间作作物籽粒产量、水分利用效率(WUE)和经济效益的影响.结果表明： 与焚烧和翻还的籽粒产量相比,立茬小麦单作分别增加7.2%和5.1%,立茬小麦间作分别增加6.2%和5.1%,立茬玉米单作分别增加4.7%和2.5%,立茬玉米间作分别增加7.2%和3.3%;与焚烧和翻还的WUE相比,立茬小麦单作分别增加20.4%和16.2%,立茬小麦间作分别增加17.9%和14.6%,立茬玉米单作分别增加16.7%和10.9%,立茬玉米间作分别增加11.8%和17.0%.就单作小麦、单作玉米和小麦/玉米平均值而言,焚烧、翻还、立茬处理的纯收益分别为10946、11471和13454元·hm^-2.从籽粒产量、水分利用效率和纯收益等方面考虑,立茬种植方式为甘肃省河西绿洲灌区小麦/玉米最佳种植模式.     

《中国植被志》研编内容与规范

植被志是基于植被(或植物群落)调查资料, 全面记叙植被的外貌、物种组成、结构和功能, 以及地理分布和生境条件等特征, 并对同类植被进行归纳和总结的志书。《中国植被志》是第一部对中国植被进行全面记述的志书, 预计完成约48卷110册。在借鉴《中国植被》(1980)(简称“80方案”)植被分类基本原则的基础上,《中国植被志》将对中国植被分类系统的高级分类单位(植被型组、植被型和植被亚型)进行归纳和总结, 对中级和低级分类单位(群系组、群系、亚群系, 群丛组、群丛)进行详细描述。植被高级分类单位的描述具有概括性质, 是在中国植被分类系统中级和低级分类单位描述的基础上, 对其在全球和中国境内的地理分布、自然环境、群落外貌、植被类型及多样性、优势种或共优势种、生物多样性保育价值以及资源现状等进行概述, 并对“80方案”相关内容进行修订和拓展, 将提供对中国植被基本特征客观、准确的记述。在植被中级和低级分类单位中, 群系组描述的内容包括地理分布、自然环境、群落外貌、植被类型以及价值与保育等内容; 群系描述的主要内容包括地理分布、自然环境、生态特征、物种组成、群落结构、群丛组和群丛的分类与描述、优势种的生物学特性、生物量与生产力、植被动态与演替以及价值与保育等方面。作为植被志研编的核心内容, 群丛组和群丛的分类与描述主要基于植被调查资料, 采用数量分类方法, 根据群落结构和物种组成的差异划分出不同的植被类型, 并对其基本特征进行定量描述和归纳。其中, 群落的层片结构、特定植被分类单元的特征种或特征种组的筛选与甄别是植被类型划分的关键环节; 而群落外貌, 群落结构, 物种组成, 各类物种的生长习性、生境的偏适性等是群丛组和群丛描述与归纳的重点内容。该文提出了中国植被中级和低级分类单位的命名方案, 其特点在于植被类型的科学名称中同时体现了植被分类单元特征种或优势种的名称及其所属的高级植被分类单位(植被型组或植被型)的名称, 兼顾了植被名称的规范性与实用性。《中国植被志》的研编工作由文献整编、群落调查、数据分析与整理、文本撰写等环节组成。该文对植被样方的调查与收集, 文献收集与整编, 气候、土壤、地形等相关数据的来源及其整理方法, 植被分类方法, 植被命名, 植被分类单元描述的内容, 植被志章节编写大纲、体裁及撰写等多个规范进行了详细的阐述或示例。     

基于景感生态学的城市生态空间服务提升研究——以北京市顺义区为例

景感生态学思想融合自然要素、物理感知、心理认知等方面,并服务于土地利用与建设。北京市在迈向建设国际一流的和谐宜居之都目标过程中,极为重视城市居民对城市生态空间的感知和互动,充分体现了将城市生态空间与人居环境质量和心理健康耦合分析的景感生态学的理念。从结合景感生态学中景感营造的思想和顺义区生态规划实践的角度出发,分析了顺义区生态空间景观格局和视觉空间格局。结果表明,顺义区的森林、草地、湿地等斑块相对比较破碎,中心城区的森林、绿地较少;顺义区具有中等以下绿视率的路段长度占比近60%,中等以上水平尤其是较高水平绿视率的路段较少,具有较大的通过景感营造提升生态服务的空间。进而以提升顺义区的城市生态空间服务为目标,总结出了生态空间景观格局优化、视觉空间格局优化、生态空间科学规划及管控、生态系统服务综合提升4个核心愿景,并基于这4个愿景提出了针对性的景感营造措施。     

喀斯特峰丛洼地土壤矿物质的组成特征与作用

基于喀斯特峰丛洼地农作区、人工林、次生林、原生林4类典型生态系统动态监测样地(200 m×40 m)土壤矿质养分因子(7个)、植被(9个)、地形(4个)、土壤理化性状(10个)共计30个指标的全面调查取样分析,采用经典统计分析、主成分分析和典范相关分析探讨了土壤矿物质的组成特征、作用以及与植被、地形、其他土壤性状的耦合关系.结果表明： 喀斯特峰丛洼地土壤矿物质组成以SiO2、Al2O3、K2O、Fe2O3为主,明显低于全球土壤平均背景值和同区域地带性红壤,CaO、MgO含量居中,MnO含量很低;不同生态系统土壤矿物质组成和变异不同,土壤的发育程度也不同,植被和土壤的原生性呈同比正相关,均有潜在的石漠化风险;4类生态系统景观异质性高,主成分分析的降维效果不好,土壤矿物质均为各生态系统的主要影响因子,且与植被、地形、其他土壤性状的关系非常密切,特别是SiO2、CaO和MnO,其中对植被的影响主要是物种多样性,对土壤则为有机质、全氮、全钾等主要养分.土壤矿物质是影响喀斯特峰丛洼地土壤肥力和植物生长发育的限制因子之一,有效利用矿物质资源、合理施用矿质养分对喀斯特退化生态系统的恢复与重建作用重大.     

长江流域生态系统格局演变及驱动力

长江流域生态系统格局复杂,多种社会经济、政策和自然因素对土地利用变化的影响使得生态环境发生变化。分析了2000年至2015年长江流域生态系统格局和演变特征,及主要驱动力对生态系统变化的贡献。15年间,共有约6.4万km~2的生态系统类型发生变化,城镇增长67.5%,农田缩减7.5%,森林增加2.1%,剧烈的生态系统变化集中于下游,以及中上游的大城市,城镇聚集区以及退耕还林区。生态系统景观破碎化程度和景观多样性提高。上、中、下游生态系统格局、构成差异较大,15年间,上游和下游森林显著增加,下游城镇显著扩张、农田和湿地显著缩减,上游湿地增加最为显著。城镇化是生态系统格局演变的首要驱动力,对生态系统变化的贡献率达48.0%,长江下游城镇化的贡献率高达64.5%。生态保护与恢复工程是第二驱动力,对生态系统变化的贡献率为32.8%,在上游高达47.8%。水资源开发和农业开发贡献率分别为8.5%和9.9%,此外,气候变化促使高原湖泊面积增大。为保护长江流域生态系统的可持续发展,需划定生态保护红线,合理规划城市化进程中的土地利用,保护优质耕地,禁止重要湿地的开发。     

A River Runs through Us

The Anacostia River severs Washington, D.C. Military waste, urban runoff, and former farmland dirty the water, but people who live along its shores cherish the river and fight to make it clean. Political ecology, stressing the power relations, inequalities, connections, and contradictions that join natural and social processes over time, enlarges historical and anthropological theory in Washington. In this article I explore the experiences and perspectives of people who have lived along the Anacostia River over the last 10,000 years. Linked transformations in environmental and social processes repeatedly created unsettled, contradictory, and unjust relations between people and the natural and built environment. The pollution of the Anacostia River reflects colonialism and conquest: nationalism, militarism, empire; racism, inequality, and urban renewal. I begin with the British conquest, then turn to four successive moments in state formation: the founding of the capital, the invention of a strong central government, urban renewal in the capital core, and the contemporary development of the waterfront. The use values of people who live along the river conflict with the exchange values that have dominated the city's history. The city's environmental justice movement has emerged from these use values and today confronts a massive redevelopment plan that exploits and undermines the movement, [political ecology, environmental justice, urban history, race, and poverty]     

Distribution of somatostatinlike immunoreactivity in the brain of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)

The distribution of somatostatinlike immunoreactive (SLI) perikarya, axons, and terminals was mapped in subcortical areas of the brain of the little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus, using light microscopic immunocytochemistry. A preponderance of immunoreactivity was localized in reticular, limbic, and hypothalamic areas including: 1) in the forebrain: the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis; lateral preoptic, dorsal, anterior, lateral and posterior hypothalamic areas; amygdaloid, periventricular, arcuate, supraoptic, suprachiasmatic, ventromedial, dorsomedial, paraventricular, lateral and medial mammillary, and lateral septal nuclei; the nucleus of the diagonal band of Broca and nucleus accumbens septi; 2) in the midbrain: the periaqueductal gray, interpeduncular, dorsal and ventral tegmental, pretectal, and Edinger-Westphal nuclei; and 3) in the hindbrain: the superior central and parabrachial nuclei, nucleus incertus, locus coeruleus, and nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis. Other areas containing SLI included the striatum (caudate nucleus and putamen), zona incerta, infundibulum, supramammillary and premammillary nuclei, medial and dorsal lateral geniculate nuclei, entopeduncular nucleus, lateral habenular nucleus, central medial thalamic nucleus, central tegmental field, linear and dorsal raphe nuclei, nucleus of Darkschewitsch, superior and inferior colliculi, nucleus ruber, substantia nigra, mesencephalic nucleus of V, inferior olivary nucleus, inferior central nucleus, nucleus prepositus, and deep cerebellar nuclei. While these results were similar in some respects to those previously reported in rodents, they also provided interesting contrasts.     

Cladistics and polychaetes

A series of cladistic analyses assesses the status and membership of the taxon Polychaeta. The available literature, and a review by Fauchald & Rouse (1997), on the 80 accepted families of the Polychaeta are used to develop characters and data matrices. As well as the polychaete families, non-polychaete taxa, such as the Echiura, Euarthropoda, Onychophora, Pogonophora (as Frenulata and Vestimentifera), Clitellata, Aeolosomatidae and Potamodrilidae, are included in the analyses. All trees are rooted using the Sipuncula as outgroup. Characters are based on features (where present) such as the prostomium, peristomium, antennae, palps, nuchal organs, parapodia, stomodaeum, segmental organ structure and distribution, circulation and chaetae. A number of analyses are performed, involving different ways of coding and weighting the characters, as well as the number of taxa included. Transformation series are provided for several of these analyses. One of the analyses is chosen to provide a new classification. The Annelida is found to be monophyletic, though weakly supported, and comprises the Clitellata and Polychaeta. The Polychaeta is monophyletic only if taxa such as the Pogonophora, Aeolosomatidae and Potamodrilidae are included and is also weakly supported. The Pogonophora is reduced to the rank of family within the Polychaeta and reverts to the name Siboglinidae Caullery, 1914. The new classification does not use Linnaean categories, and the Polychaeta comprises two clades, the Scolecida and Palpata. The Palpata has the clades Aciculata and Canalipalpata. The Aciculata contains the Phyllodocida and Eunicida. The Canalipalpata has three clades; the Sabellida (including the Siboglinidae) Spionida and Terebellida. The position of a number of families requires further investigation.     

Studies on the Characteristic of Element Contents in the Dominant Plant Species of the Three gorges Region in China

The characteristics of the contents of 20 elements (Al, Fe, Mn, Ca, Mg, K, S, Si, P, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ti, Ni, Sr, Mo, Na, B, Cr, V) in 16 plant species collected from the Three Gorges Region in China were investigated. The average contents of Ca, K and Mg were higher than 1 000 μg·g-1, that of Al, P, Si, Fe, S and Mn ranged between 100—1 000 μg·g-1 and Ti, Cu, Ni, Cr, Mo, Cd and V were less than 10 μg·g- 1. The level of Na content was less than that of the reported. The main character of the element contents was of the Ca> K type. The contents of P, S, Ca and K in different plant samples showed a normal distribution pattern, while Al and Mn showed a elements lognormal distribution pattern. Plant species differed greatly in the element contents. On analyzing the coefficient of variation (C. V., % ), Al, Mn, Mg, Ni, Sr and Fe had higher C.V., while the C.V. of K, S, P, Cr, Cd and Cu was less than 60%, and Cu had the lowest C.V. The correlations between Al and Fe, Al and Ti, Al and Cr, A1 and V, Cd and Sr, Cd and Mo, Fe and V, Zn and Cr, Ni and Sr, Mg and Ni, Mo and Sr, Ca and Sr, Cr and Mo, Na and Mg, Na and P, P and S were statistically significant in different plant species. The classification of the 16 plant species and 20 dements by two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) method may suggest the difference in dement contents of the different plant species.