富营养湖泊大型围隔和围栏中磷的动态

对武汉东湖大型围隔和围栏中的水生植被和不同形态的磷近2年的调查分析结果表明：在围隔中的水生维管束植物得到恢复、生物量明显大于对照区的情况下,水中的总磷（TP）、溶解活性磷（DRP）、颗粒性磷（PP）浓度明显低于对照区,水生维管束植物的良好生长是导致磷浓度降低的主要因素,总溶解磷（TDP）、溶解非活性磷（DNP）浓度则与对照区无显著差异;围隔（栏）及对照区中TP、PP的浓度秋高冬低,TDP浓度秋、冬季较高,春、夏季较低,DNP浓度春季较高,冬季较低;TP中PP含量约为TDP的4－6倍,DRP与DNP的含量相近或稍有差别。     

东湖围隔（栏）中水生植被恢复及结构优化研究

为重建湖泊水生植被 ,在武汉东湖无鱼的 2个大型围隔和 1个围栏中进行了水生植被自然恢复和人工结构优化试验 ,两年内 ,围隔 (栏 )中的植被均得以恢复 ,植物月生物量均值均高出对照区约 1倍 ,自然增加的维管束植物比对照区多 3～ 6种 ,漂浮植物易定殖 ,水绵和刚毛藻较易生长 ;自然恢复的植被常以穗花狐尾藻、野菱等为优势种 ,缺乏挺水层 ,群落结构不理想 ,通过合理选种植物 ,可较快地改善其结构 ,加快植被恢复进程 ,经初步实验 ,莲、芦苇、苦草、金鱼藻和穗花狐尾藻适应性较强 ,可作为重建东湖水生植被的先锋种 ,以沉水植物为主体的植被结构较优良 ,控制养鱼是恢复水生植被的前提     

贵州草海水生植物多样性及群落演替

在2016年调查基础上, 结合已有资料, 研究草海水生植物多样性、群落特征、水生植被分布现状及群落演替规律, 探讨驱动水生植物群落演替的主导因素。结果显示, 草海现有水生植物67种, 隶属28科40属, 水生植物优势群落22个。与1983年相比, 草海水生植物无论是在优势种还是优势群落上均发生了很大变化, 挺水植物群落组成由1983年以莎草科植物为主演变为现在以禾本科植物为主, 入侵植物空心莲子草(Alternanthera philoxeroides)在草海环湖消涨区、航道、码头等地已形成入侵趋势, 部分区域种群密度可达70株/m2。草海水生植物生物量30年来呈上升趋势, 2016年各类型水生植物的总生物量是1983年的4.1倍。相关资料表明, 人类活动、鸟类迁徙、水土流失、水体富营养化、外来入侵物种都对草海水生植物多样性和群落演替具有一定影响。     

上海乡土水生植物资源及其在水生态恢复与水景观建设中的应用潜力

水生植物作为水生生态系统的主体, 对发挥水生生态系统的自维持、自循环功能有重要作用。研究通过相关资料的查阅, 建立上海地区乡土水生植物名录, 并对其科属组成、区系特征、生活型、生长型等进行统计分析。结果表明上海地区乡土水生植物共计35 科83 属160 种(含变种), 单属科、单种属的比例较高, 均达65%以上; 植物区系组成丰富、成分复杂, 以热带成分占优势, 达64.6%; 生活型以挺水植物为主, 沉水植物次之, 浮水植物最少; 生长型类型丰富, 以草本型、禾草型居多, 20 种生长型可进一步归为表征相似生态学特征和功能地位的6 个生长型组。在水生态恢复与水景观建设中, 仅有68.8%的景观水体有水生植物应用,且应用种类在2 种以下的占79.2%。乡土水生植物应用不足, 一半以上为观赏性强的外来物种, 应用频率较高的为挺水植物, 对具有良好净化效果的沉水植物重视不够。因此, 在水生态恢复与水景观建设中, 建议加强乡土水生植物资源的繁育栽培, 在充分利用乡土水生植物资源配置群落的基础上, 根据水质的富营养及基底状况, 通过不同生长型组水生植物的应用, 构建沉水-浮水-挺水植物群落复合体, 并通过近自然型护岸的营造, 形成水生-湿生复合生态系统。运用植被工程学的原理和方法, 采用生态浮岛、生态沉岛等技术营造水生植被, 将强人工化的水景观建成具生命的水生生态系统。       

滇西北高原纳帕海湖滨湿地退化特征、规律与过程

采用双向指示种分析(TWINSPAN)和典范对应分析(CCA)方法,研究了滇西北高原纳帕海湖滨湿地退化特征、规律与过程.结果表明: 纳帕海湖滨湿地植物群落可以划分为4个群丛,群落演替规律为水生植物群落→沼泽植物群落→沼泽化草甸植物群落→草甸植物群落.随植物群落演替,群落盖度、密度、多样性指数、物种丰富度和地上生物量均增大,群落高度减小;植物水分生态型演替规律为水生植物→沼生植物→湿生植物→中生植物.随群落演替,湿地水体矿化度、硬度和碱度均降低,氨氮和总磷含量升高,总氮和硝态氮含量变化不明显;土壤pH、有机质和全氮含量逐渐降低,全磷和全钾含量逐渐升高,速效氮和速效磷含量先增大后减小.CCA分析表明,群落结构和物种组成主要受水分梯度影响,土壤pH、全磷和湿地水的总氮、氨氮对湿地植物物种分布和群落演替影响显著.     

沉水植物重建对富营养水体氮磷营养水平的影响

利用富营养浅水湖泊(武汉东湖)中所建立的大型实验围隔系统,研究了沉水植物对水体N、P营养水平的影响．结果表明,沉水植物重建后N、P营养水平显著降低．在研究期间,水生植物围隔总N和总P水平均显著低于对照围隔和大湖水体,而且水生植物围隔的总P含量一般维持在0．1mg·L^-1左右。季节性波动远低于对照围隔和大湖水体．水生植物围隔水体中氨态氮和亚硝态氮含量较低．而硝态氮含量与对照围隔和和大湖水体差别不大．由此可见。恢复以沉水植物为主的水生植被,可以有效地降低N、P营养循环速度,控制浮游植物过度增长,是重建富营养湖泊生态系统的重要措施．     

湿地植物生长模型的改进及其动态的计算机模拟分析

湿地植被的恢复与人工调控是恢复生态学研究的热点问题之一,建立湿地大型植物生长的控制模型。能为此提供一种理论模式。在湿地植物群落中,植物种间的相互作用关系较为复杂,在植物生长的不同阶段显现为互利、竞争或相互独立。基于此我们对Shukla提出的湿地植物生长模型进行了改进．建立了一种能够反映种间复杂作用机制(包括互利与竞争)的新模型。以植物的生物量为描述变量,用统计方法确定了模型参数,对实例进行了计算机模拟与数值分析．并研究了植物生长系统的稳定性。结果表明：①新模型能有效地描述湿地植物种间互利或竞争作用．优于只考虑种间竞争作用的Shukla模型;②对植物生长过程的计算机模拟结果和图像显示,在较低生物量水平上．种间显现互利关系;在较高生物量水平上．种间发生竞争作用,竞争的结局为一种植物占优势,而另一种植物趋于灭亡．这些与实际观测结果是一致的;③对系统进行了稳定性分析;④根据数值模拟结果,提出了湿地恢复的人工调控对策与建议。     

CO2浓度升高对沉水克隆植物生长速率及营养元素积累的影响

 研究在不同CO2浓度下水生克隆植物刺苦草（Vallisneria spinulosa）整个生活周期中生长的动态变化及对营养元素积累情况。在不损伤植物体的前提下,采用刺苦草形态学指标组合史估计了植株生物量的动态变化。结果表明：刺苦草鳞茎的萌发不受CO2浓度变化的影响。在高浓度CO2即(1000±50) μmol·mol-1下,刺苦草源株地上部分生长速率在整个生长前期和中期都远远高于低浓度CO2即(400±20) μmol·mol-1,而在后期则出现相反的现象,其中一个原因是因为高浓度CO2下后期光合物质向地下大量转移形成鳞茎引起地上部分生长减慢。但高浓度CO2下克隆株中的初级和次级分株生长速率均高于低浓度CO2。在两种CO2浓度下相同克隆植株构件中的总碳含量没有明显差异;除鳞茎外,根、叶、匍匐茎中的总磷含量随CO2浓度升高显著增加;由于各构件生物量增加有明显差异,导致叶和鳞茎因为生物稀释作用而使其含氮量降低了12%～14%,但根和茎中含量基本保持不变。在高浓度CO2中植株总生物量显著升高,所以总碳、总氮和总磷吸收量均显著大于在低浓度CO2中的吸收量。研究结果揭示,大气CO2浓度升高对沉水克隆植物生长的促进,有利于提高水生克隆植物在群落中的竞争能力;水生植物克隆生长将增加水生生态系统中碳的沉积;水环境中N、P含量将直接影响到水生克隆植物生长。     

新疆开都河流域水生植物多样性及其影响因素

河流是一个连续的、流动的、独特而完整的系统,研究河流生态系统中水生植物的多样性分布格局及其影响因素对河流生态学研究具有重要意义。本文通过野外调查,研究了新疆开都河流域水生植物多样性、主要水生植物群落特征及与环境因子之间的关系,并利用水分-能量动态假说和栖息地异质性假说对该流域水生植物物种多样性的地理格局进行解释。结果表明: 开都河流域共有水生植物71种,隶属于24科39属;聚类分析可将开都河流域水生植物群落划分为10个主要群落类型,其中芦苇群落物种丰富度最高,狭叶香蒲群落和金鱼藻群落物种丰富度最低;流域水生植物群落Shannon指数与pH呈显著负相关,Simpson指数与pH、经度呈显著负相关,与海拔呈显著正相关;流域水生植物群落类型主要受海拔、水深及水温的影响;流域水生植物物种多样性随经纬度无明显变化规律。水分-能量动态假说和栖息地异质性假说共解释开都河流域水生植物多样性格局变量的31.4%,表明这两个假说对于该流域水生植物多样性格局的解释力并不高。     

水生植物对富营养水体水质净化作用研究

利用富营养浅水湖泊武汉东湖中所建立的大型实验围隔系统,对沉水植物的水质净化作用作了现场实验研究。重建后的沉水植物可以显著改善水质,水体透明度显著提高,水色降低。在研究期间,水生植物围隔CODcr和BOD5一般分别为20和5mg/L左右;对照围隔和大湖水体则分别约为40和10mg/L。水生植物围隔水体中检出的有机污染种类也较对照围和大湖水体柢。实验结果表明恢复以沉水植物为主的水生植被是改善营养湖泊水质和重建生态系统的有效措施。     

Race and Racism in America and in Anthropology

Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview . Audrey Smedley
Anthropology and Race . Eugenia Shanklin     

Degradation and conversion of somatostatin in normal and diabetic rats in vivo and in vitro

Plasma somatostatin-like immunoreactivity in the portal and jugular veins of streptozotocin diabetic rats was compared with that in normal control rats. In the diabetic group, somatostatin levels in the portal (p less than 0.05) and jugular (p less than 0.01) veins were both elevated compared with those in the control group. Moreover, the degree of elevation was greater in the jugular vein than in the portal vein. To further investigate the role of the liver in the clearance of somatostatin-28 in vivo, 2 micrograms of somatostatin-28 was administered as a bolus into the external jugular vein of intact and functionally hepatectomized rats. The mean half-time of somatostatin-28 was significantly longer in intact diabetic rats than in controls (p less than 0.05). The functional hepatectomy did not cause a significant difference in the half-time in diabetic rats but made it longer in control rats. These results suggest that the longer half-time of somatostatin-28 in diabetic rats in vivo is due to its slower hepatic clearance. The hepatic clearance of somatostatin-28 and somatostatin-14 was further studied in vitro using a recirculating liver perfusion method. The hepatic clearance of 1.2 nM of either somatostatin-28 or somatostatin-14 was significantly lower in diabetic rats than in controls (p less than 0.01). This indicates that elevated plasma somatostatin levels in diabetic rats are caused at least in part by decreased hepatic clearance of somatostatin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Trajectories and Constraints in Brain Evolution in Primates and Cetaceans

A negative allometric relationship between body mass (BM) and brain size (BS) can be observed for many vertebrate groups. In the past decades, researchers have proposed several hypotheses to explain this finding, but none is definitive and some are possibly not mutually exclusive. Certain species diverge markedly (positively or negatively) from the mean of the ratio BM/BS expected for a particular taxonomic group. It is possible to define encephalization quotient (EQ) as the ratio between the actual BS and the expected brain size. Several cetacean species show higher EQs compared to all primates, except modern humans. The process that led to big brains in primates and cetaceans produced different trajectories, as shown by the organizational differences observed in every encephalic district (e.g., the cortex). However, these two groups both convergently developed complex cognitive abilities. The comparative study on the trajectories through which the encephalization process has independently evolved in primates and cetaceans allows a critical appraisal of the causes, the time and the mode of quantitative and qualitative development of the brain in our species and in the hominid evolutionary lineage.     

Variation in infectivity and aggressiveness in space and time in wild host-pathogen systems: causes and consequences

Variation in host resistance and in the ability of pathogens to infect and grow (i.e. pathogenicity) is important as it provides the raw material for antagonistic (co)evolution and therefore underlies risks of disease spread, disease evolution and host shifts. Moreover, the distribution of this variation in space and time may inform us about the mode of coevolutionary selection (arms race vs. fluctuating selection dynamics) and the relative roles of G × G interactions, gene flow, selection and genetic drift in shaping coevolutionary processes. Although variation in host resistance has recently been reviewed, little is known about overall patterns in the frequency and scale of variation in pathogenicity, particularly in natural systems. Using 48 studies from 30 distinct host–pathogen systems, this review demonstrates that variation in pathogenicity is ubiquitous across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Quantitative analysis of a subset of extensively studied plant–pathogen systems shows that the magnitude of within‐population variation in pathogenicity is large relative to among‐population variation and that the distribution of pathogenicity partly mirrors the distribution of host resistance. At least part of the variation in pathogenicity found at a given spatial scale is adaptive, as evidenced by studies that have examined local adaptation at scales ranging from single hosts through metapopulations to entire continents and – to a lesser extent – by comparisons of pathogenicity with neutral genetic variation. Together, these results support coevolutionary selection through fluctuating selection dynamics. We end by outlining several promising directions for future research.     

Aminoacylation in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and in methanogenic and halophilic archaebacteria

Abstract Phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PRS) from the sulphur-metabolizing thermoacidophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus acidocaldarius has been purified 150-fold using different chromatographic steps. The enzyme has a M _r of 270 000 and exhibits considerable thermostability in a temperature range up to 90°C with optimal activity at 70°C. Conservation of antigenic determinants could not be detected by antibodies against various PRS of all primary kingdoms. As a further means to detect traits of phylogenetic relationship, the cross-species reactivity between PRS and tRNAs of organisms from the three branches of archaebacteria and from all primary kingdoms reveals the group character of all 3 branches of the archaebacterial domain, the sulphur-metabolizing, methanogenic and halophilic archaebacteria.     

Deoxynivalenol and nivalenol in wheat and by-products in Argentina

The deoxynivalenol and nivalenol contamination in wheat and by-products obtained through milling was analized by Trucksess method slightly modified in the proportion of acetonitrile—water (3:1). Only one sample of wheat showed deoxynivalenol contamination, 1,200μg/kg. No samples obtained in different stages of the milling were contaminated with deoxynivalenol or nivalenol. In the commercial wheat flours the levels found ranged between 400 and 800μg/kg, as follows: 400μ/kg, 5 samples; 800jug/kg, 1 sample.     

Obestatin and ghrelin in obese and in pregnant women

We identified, through qPCR, receptor mRNA for a number of gut peptides in female human omental fat: the incretins, GIP and GLP-1, the orexigenic peptides PYY-Y1 and -Y2 and ghrelin, and the anorexigenic peptide obestatin. Four cohorts of women were examined: lean controls (BMI<23), obese (BMI>41), obese diabetic and term pregnant women. Human fat expressed receptor mRNAs for all six peptides. Pregnant women expressed roughly three times as much orphan GPR-39 receptor, a proposed obestatin receptor, than other women and less than half as much of the ghrelin receptor (GHSR-1a). An immunoblot probed with a GPR-39 selective antibody yielded a single band corresponding to the correct molecular weight (52 kDa) for the proposed obestatin receptor. Fluorescent immunohistochemistry of human fat employing the same antibody indicated the receptor protein was localized to the adipocyte cell membrane. The concentration of obestatin circulating in blood was measured in the same cohort of women and was significantly lower in obese and obese diabetic women compared to control.