去除和添加凋落物对枫香（Liquidambar formosana）和樟树（Cinnamomum camphora）林土壤呼吸的影响

2007年1月至12月,在长沙天际岭国家森林公园,使用LI-COR-6400-09连接到LI-6400便携式CO2/H2O分析系统,测定亚热带枫香(Liquidambar formosana)和樟树(Cinnamomum camphora)林去除和添加凋落物(931.5 g · m-2a-1和1003.4 g · m-2a-1)的土壤呼吸速率以及5 cm土壤温、湿度,研究凋落物对2种森林生态系统中土壤呼吸速率的影响.结果表明:枫香和樟树林去除和添加凋落物的土壤呼吸速率季节变化显著,在季节动态上的趋势与5 cm土壤温度相似,均呈单峰曲线格局,全年去除凋落物土壤呼吸速率平均值分别为1.132 μmol CO2 · m-2s-1和1.933 μmol CO2 · m-2s-1,分别比对照处理1.397 μmol CO2 · m-2s-1和2.581 μmol CO2 · m-2s-1低18.62%和26.49%;添加凋落物土壤呼吸速率平均值分别为2.363 μmol CO2 · m-2s-1和3.267 μmol CO2 · m-2s-1,分别比对照处理高71.31%和39.18%.两种群落去除和添加凋落物土壤呼吸的季节变化均与5 cm土壤温度呈显著指数相关(P﹤0.001),与5 cm土壤湿度相关性不显著(P>0.05);土壤温度和湿度可以共同解释去除和添加凋落物后土壤呼吸变化的95.2%、93.7%和90.0%、92.8%.枫香和樟树群落去除和添加凋落物土壤呼吸温度敏感性Q10值分别为3.01、3.29和3.02、4.37,均比对照处理Q10值2.98和2.94高.这证明凋落物是影响森林CO2通量的一个重要因子.     

不同树龄杨树人工林的根系呼吸季节动态

根系呼吸是准确评估森林生态系统土壤碳收支的一个重要依据。基于LI-COR-6400-09土壤呼吸系统连续2a测定的3个生长阶段杨树人工林的根系呼吸数据,分析了根系呼吸的季节变化规律及树龄、土壤水热因子和细根生物量对它的影响。结果表明:3个不同树龄人工林的根系呼吸速率均呈明显的季节变化,最大值出现在夏初,最小值出现在秋末,基本上与表层土壤温度的季节变化相一致。根系呼吸的峰值早于土壤温度和细根生物量的峰值,说明林木根系的季节生长节律、地下碳分配模式都可能影响根系呼吸的季节变化。2年生人工林的根系呼吸速率最高,平均为3.78μmolCO2m-2s-1,并随树龄增长呈下降趋势。3个树龄人工林根系呼吸占土壤呼吸的比例介于38.6%-58.0%之间,且2年生人工林最大。不同林龄之间根系呼吸的差异主要与根系的生长周转速率及代谢活性随生长阶段的变化有关。总的来说,表层土壤温度和细根生物量的协同作用可解释根系呼吸速率变化的76%。此外在评估一个轮伐期内的根系呼吸强度时,应考虑不同生长阶段对它的影响。     

环境因子和生物因子对黄河三角洲滨海湿地土壤呼吸的影响

采用Li-8150多通道土壤呼吸自动测量系统对黄河三角洲滨海湿地土壤呼吸进行全年连续测定,同步测量了温度、土壤含水量、地上生物量以及叶面积指数等环境因子和生物因子.结果表明: 土壤呼吸日动态在全年尺度上多呈单峰型,但在受到土壤封冻和地表积水干扰时,土壤呼吸日动态呈多峰型.土壤呼吸具有明显的季节动态特征,总体呈单峰型,年平均土壤呼吸速率为0.85 μmol CO₂·m^-2·s^-1,生长季平均土壤呼吸速率为1.22 μmol CO₂·m^-2·s^-1.在全年尺度上,土壤温度是滨海湿地土壤呼吸的主要控制因子,可解释全年土壤呼吸87.5%的变化.在生长季尺度上,土壤含水量和叶面积指数对土壤呼吸的协同影响达到85%.     

不同树龄杨树(Populus balsamifera)人工林的土壤呼吸空间异质性

土壤呼吸作用的空间异质性对土壤碳收支的准确评估起重要作用.通过对新疆伊犁地区3个生长阶段杨树人工林的土壤呼吸速率、土壤环境因子和细根生物量的测定,分析了土壤呼吸速率的空间变异及其影响因素.结果表明:在整个生长季,土壤呼吸空间变异系数(CV)为5.7％ ～42.6％.2、7和12年生杨树人工林的平均土壤呼吸速率分别为5.74、5.10和4.71 μmol·m-2·s-1,空间变异系数分别为28.8％、22.4％和19.6％,差异显著.逐步回归分析表明,5 cm土壤温度、表层土壤氮含量及细根生物量是决定土壤呼吸空间异质性的主要因子,可以共同解释86％的土壤呼吸变异.此外,由于测点距树干的位置不同,使土壤温度和细根生物量等因子发生了改变,也会导致土壤呼吸的空间变异.在估算杨树人工林土壤碳排放量时,应考虑其在不同生长阶段土壤呼吸速率的空间变异.     

亚热带杉木和米老排人工林土壤呼吸对凋落物去除和交换的响应

在我国亚热带地区米老排(Mytilaria laosensis)和杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)人工林中设置去除凋落物、交换凋落物和对照3种处理,利用LI-8100对不同处理土壤呼吸速率进行为期14个月的连续观测。结果表明:与对照相比,去除和交换凋落物导致米老排人工林CO2年排放量显著减少29.8%和14.2%,杉木人工林则分别减少6.1%和增加37.8%。两种林分交换凋落物处理产生了不同程度的激发效应,米老排凋落物相对于杉木凋落物具有更大的激发效应。不同处理土壤呼吸速率均与土壤温度呈显著指数关系,与土壤含水量呈负相关,土壤温度和含水量的回归模型可以分别解释米老排人工林中去除、交换和对照处理土壤呼吸速率的68.9%、77.0%和69.6%,杉木人工林的53.0%、36.2%和63.8%。两种林分不同处理土壤呼吸速率与土壤可溶性有机碳含量、微生物生物量碳含量以及主要微生物种群生物量显著相关。米老排人工林去除和交换凋落物处理均降低了土壤呼吸的温度敏感性Q10值,而杉木林中仅去除凋落物降低了Q10值。研究表明,土壤呼吸对凋落物输入方式改变的响应因树种而异,这种差异与凋落物输入的数量和质量及其对土壤易变性有机碳含量和微生物生物量的影响有关。     

模拟酸雨胁迫对马尾松和杉木幼苗土壤呼吸的影响

利用LI-8100测定模拟酸雨不同处理下(pH2.5、4.0和5.6)盆栽马尾松(Pinus Massoniana)和杉木幼苗(Cunninghamia lanceolata)的土壤呼吸速率及土壤温度、含水量,研究酸雨对其土壤呼吸的影响.结果表明:模拟酸雨喷淋下马尾松和杉木土壤pH值呈现下降的趋势且下降幅度同酸雨酸度呈现正相关性;马尾松和杉木各个处理下土壤呼吸速率季节变化显著,且同地下10cm土壤温度季节变化趋势一致,pH2.5处理下的土壤呼吸速率平均值分别为1.79μmol · m-2 · s-1和1.12μmol · m-2 · s-1,比对照组(pH5.6)土壤呼吸速率平均值1.57μmol · m-2 · s-1和1.54μmol · m-2 · s-1分别高14%和低39%;马尾松和杉木各个处理下土壤呼吸速率同10cm土壤温度之间均呈现显著的指数关系(P<0.001),与5cm土壤含水量之间相关性不明确;在P=0.05水平上进行多元回归分析,可以得到土壤呼吸速率同土壤温度和含水量的综合拟合方程,和单因素(温度、含水量)拟合相比能够更好地解释土壤呼吸的变化情况;马尾松和杉木在pH2.5和4.0处理下的土壤呼吸温度系数Q10值分别为1.36、2.01和1.51、2 25,同对照组1.14和1.58相比,均有明显差异,且两者Q10值的变化呈先增大后减小的趋势.这证明酸雨是影响马尾松和杉木土壤CO2通量的一个重要因素.     

水热因子对沙漠地区土壤呼吸的影响

利用Li-6400-09土壤呼吸室和Li-6400便携式光合测定仪,在植物生长季对腾格里沙漠东南缘植被区和流沙区的土壤呼吸进行了连续测定,并分析了温度和水分对土壤呼吸的影响.结果表明:(1)植被区和流沙区土壤呼吸速率的日变化特征相似,即夜间土壤呼吸速率保持在较低的水平,而白天则呈现单峰变化趋势;而季节变化趋势明显不同,即植被区内的土壤呼吸有明显的季节变化,流沙则没有明显的季节变化;(2) 植被区和流沙区0～5cm土壤含水量与土壤呼吸速率均呈显著的线性关系,但植被区的相关性好于流沙区.当0～5cm土壤含水量大于测定期间的平均值 (植被区为6.78%、流沙区6.94%)时,植被区和流沙区的土壤呼吸速率都明显高于土壤含水量小于平均值时的土壤呼吸速率,其土壤呼吸速率平均值之比分别为:2.6、1.5;(3) 土壤呼吸速率与地表5cm处土壤温度呈显著的指数关系,当土壤含水量小于测定期间的平均值时,植被区与流沙区的Q10值分别为1.23和1.43;当土壤含水量大于测定期间的平均值时,植被区与流沙区的Q10值分别为2.23和1.72.由此可见,土壤水分不仅影响了土壤呼吸速率的大小,而且还影响了土壤呼吸速率的温度敏感性.     

呼伦贝尔地区贝加尔针茅草甸草原土壤CO_2排放特征

采用Li-8150多通道土壤碳通量自动观测系统,于2009年6月—2010年6月对呼伦贝尔地区贝加尔针茅草甸草原土壤呼吸进行连续野外观测,分析该地区土壤CO2通量排放特征.结果表明:生长季内贝加尔针茅草甸草原土壤呼吸日动态呈单峰曲线,最高值出现在13:00—15:00,最低值出现在5:00—6:00,土壤呼吸呈明显的季节变化,与土壤温度和土壤含水量季节动态相吻合.土壤呼吸与各层土壤温度和土壤含水量关系可以用线性模型和指数-乘幂模型来表示;土壤呼吸与各层土壤温度呈显著的指数回归关系,Q10变化范围分别为1.68~2.14和3.03~3.60,非生长季土壤温度对土壤呼吸的影响更为显著;生长季内土壤呼吸与10 cm土壤含水量呈显著正相关.2009和2010年土壤CO2年排放量分别为488.47和507.20 g C·m-2·a-1,生长季排放量约占年排放量的90%.     

米槠和杉木人工林土壤呼吸及其组分分析

区分森林土壤呼吸组分是了解生态系统碳循环的重要环节。该文以福建省三明市格氏栲自然保护区米槠(Castanopsis carlesii)人工林和邻近的杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)人工林为研究对象,于2012年8月至2013年7月,采用LI-8100开路式土壤碳通量系统,通过挖壕沟方法,测定了土壤呼吸及异养呼吸的速率,同时测定了5 cm深处的土壤温度和0–12 cm深处的土壤含水量。利用指数模型和双因素模型,分析土壤呼吸及其组分与土壤温度和土壤含水量的关系,同时计算了土壤呼吸各组分在土壤呼吸中所占的比例,并分析了不同森林类型对土壤呼吸及其组分的影响。结果表明:米槠人工林和杉木人工林土壤呼吸及其组分的季节变化显著,均呈单峰型曲线,与5 cm深处的土壤温度呈极显著正相关关系。土壤温度可以分别解释米槠人工林土壤呼吸、自养呼吸和异养呼吸变化的70.3%、73.4%和58.2%,可以解释杉木人工林土壤呼吸、自养呼吸和异养呼吸变化的77.9%、65.7%和79.2%。土壤呼吸及其组分与土壤含水量没有相关关系。米槠和杉木人工林自养呼吸的年通量分别为4.00和2.18 t C·hm–2·a–1,占土壤呼吸年通量的32.5%和24.1%;异养呼吸年通量分别为8.32和6.88 t C·hm–2·a–1,分别占土壤呼吸年通量的67.5%和75.9%,米槠人工林土壤呼吸及其组分的年通量都大于杉木人工林。     

短期施氮肥降低杉木幼林土壤的根系和微生物呼吸

土壤呼吸是陆地生态系统碳循环的重要过程。在人工林生态系统中,施肥不仅能提高人工林的生产力和固碳能力,而且还会对土壤呼吸产生影响。为阐明施氮肥对人工林土壤总呼吸、根系和微生物呼吸的影响,在中亚热带地区的湖南会同,以5年生杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)幼林为研究对象,施氮肥1年后,利用LI-8100对土壤呼吸进行为期12个月的野外原位定点观测。结果发现:施氮肥使土壤总呼吸、根系呼吸和微生物呼吸分别降低了22.7%、19.6%和23.5%;土壤呼吸的温度敏感性(Q10)为1.81–2.04,施肥使土壤微生物呼吸的Q10值从对照的2.04降低为1.84,但土壤总呼吸的Q10值没有发生显著变化;施肥没有改变土壤呼吸的季节变化,在双因素模型中,土壤温度和含水量可以解释土壤呼吸季节变化的69.9%–79.7%。研究表明施氮肥能降低中亚热带地区杉木人工林土壤有机碳分解对温度升高的响应,在全球变暖背景下有利于增加土壤有机碳储量。     

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.     

Electroejaculation in chimpanzees and gorillas and artificial insemination in chimpanzees

Electroejaculation was performed in 3 chimpanzees, 1 pygmy chimpanzee, and 2 gorillas with an instrument that delivers a modified sine wave current with a frequency of 24 Hz. The current stimuli were applied by a rectal probe with longitudinal electrodes. The electrical parameters varied from 6 to 12 V and from 30 to 40 mA for response of erection and lay between 8 and 18 V and between 40 and 145 mA during semen emission. Eleven chimpanzee semen samples showed the following data (x ± SD): total volume 1.9 ± 1.3 ml, volume of the liquid fraction 0.3 ± 0.2 ml, spermatozoa per ejaculate 743 ± 376 × 10⁶, sperm motility 52.7 ± 9.6%, morphologically abnormal spermatozoa 12.2 ± 7.5%. From an adult gorilla, three semen samples were collected, in each case without spermatozoa. The electrostimulation of a 6-year-old gorilla led to an erection, but not to semen emission. Three female chimpanzees were inseminated with fresh or frozen semen, each of them within three different estrous cycles. None of these inseminations led to a pregnancy.     

Advances in purine and pyrimidine metabolism in health and diseases

ABSTRACT

In June, 2015, the Purine and Pyrimidine Society organized the 16th biennial symposium on Purine and Pyrimidine metabolism at the Faculty House of Columbia University, New York City. This exciting meeting focused on these important molecules, new developments in inborn errors of metabolism; therapeutic analogs. In addition, the biochemistry of mammalian and non-mammalian systems were discussed. Due to significant advances in molecular medicine, the boundaries between clinical and basic sciences have merged into exciting translational research, of which a small portion was highlighted in the presymposium.     

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.     

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.