塔里木河下游胡杨空心特征

本文选取塔里木河下游阿拉干断面胡杨林长期监测样地,分析胡杨林空心率、树洞特征及其在不同胸径和树高组间的分布特点。结果表明: 研究区胡杨种群具有较高的空心现象,空心胡杨占调查胡杨总数量的56%,约159株·hm^-2;胡杨空心率在不同胸径和树高组间呈显著差异,其与胸径呈显著正相关,与树高呈显著负相关。该监测样地胡杨树洞密度约560个·hm^-2,平均每株2个;所调查的胡杨树洞大部分出现在树干上(57.1%),均以树干中部洞口为主(31.3%);直径为5~15 cm的树洞(38.2%)所占比例最大。总树洞数量、单株树洞数量、树洞直径等特征与胸径呈显著正相关,与树高呈显著负相关,而各树洞类型在不同胸径和树高组间的分布不同,变化趋势不一致。胡杨树洞在各方位上的分布差异显著,树洞集中分布在正西方向上。胡杨荒漠河岸林的空心发生率较为严重,且胸径越大其空穴化程度越明显。加强保育幼龄胡杨和修复退化荒漠河岸林具有重要意义。     

基于地面LiDAR数据的塔里木河下游胡杨林结构参数反演

以塔里木河下游天然胡杨林为研究对象,利用Riegl VZ-1000型地面激光扫描仪(Terrestrial Laser Scanning, TLS)获取离河道不同距离的8个样方内513棵胡杨的三维点云数据,通过建立冠层高度模型、Hough变换等方法获取单木株数和结构参数,并与传统的每木检尺实测数据和无人机(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV)低空影像进行对比,验证激光雷达方法的测树精度;对TLS获取的胡杨树形参数进行相关性分析,并建立关系模型;探讨不同水胁迫条件(不同离河道距离,不同地下水埋深)对胡杨单木结构参数的影响;最后按不同径级划分胡杨的年龄,得出各龄级胡杨所占比例。结果表明:(1)TLS能够高精度获取不同密度和长势的胡杨单木株数和结构参数,单株准确分割比率为94%—100%,相对于UAV低空影像更为准确;(2)TLS获取的胡杨树高(Tree height,TH)、胸径(Diameter at breast height, DBH)、冠幅直径(Crown diameter,CD)和冠幅面积(Crown area,CA)与传统实测值拟合度R~2较高,分别为0.95、0.97、0.77和0.84,表明实测数据和TLS获取数据无明显差异;(3)胡杨CD、CA分别与TH呈显著正相关,其相关性系数为0.73、0.67;基于此构建了胡杨TH与CD的关系模型,即TH=2.6274×CD~(0.706),R~2为0.64;(4)根据径级划分胡杨年龄段可知,DBH为15—30 cm的近熟林比例最大,占8个样方内监测胡杨总株数的47%,表明胡杨种群年龄结构相对稳定并总体态势良好,呈现了生态输水对塔河下游胡杨种群恢复有明显的促进作用。总之,激光雷达技术能够客观反映胡杨树形结构参数,可替代耗力、耗费、耗时的传统实测方法,为时时掌握胡杨林生长发育、长势动态以及多尺度、多时相生态耗水研究提供高精度信息,为干旱区荒漠河岸林的有效保护与可持续管理提供科学依据。     

APPswe小鼠β淀粉样斑块与胶质细胞激活相关性研究

摘要 目的：通过检测阿尔茨海默病（Alzheimer''s Disease,AD）APPswe转基因小鼠前额叶皮质（prefrontal cortex, PFC）中β-淀粉样蛋白（β-amyloid, Aβ）与胶质纤维酸性蛋白(glial fibrillary acidic protein, GFAP)和离子钙结合衔接分子1（Ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1,Iba-1）的表达相关性,进一步明确AD中β淀粉样斑块在神经胶质细胞激活中的重要作用。方法：选取9只12月龄APPswe AD小鼠,使用免疫组织化学法检测PFC中Aβ、GFAP以及Iba-1表达,并分析Aβ与GFAP和Iba-1水平的相关性;使用免疫荧光双标法分别评价不同大小Aβ斑块分别与GFAP和Iba-1的共染情况。结果：免疫组织化学结果显示,AD小鼠前额叶皮质中Aβ水平高,则GFAP和Iba-1信号水平也较高;反之,Aβ水平低,GFAP和Iba-1的表达水平也较低。Pearson相关性分析结果表明Aβ水平与GFAP（R=0.6677,P<0.05）和Iba-1（R=0.8257,P<0.05）的水平呈正相关,且与GFAP相比,Iba-1显示出与Aβ水平更高的表达相关性。与免疫组织化学结果一致,免疫荧光双标法结果亦表明小鼠PFC中较大的Aβ斑块所在区域GFAP或Iba-1荧光信号强度及范围亦大于较小的Aβ斑块所在区域GFAP或Iba-1荧光信号强度。结论：AD小鼠前额叶皮质中Aβ水平与GFAP和Iba-1的表达量呈正相关,表明Aβ形成在神经胶质细胞的激活中发挥重要作用。     

环吡酮胺抑制人胶质瘤细胞SHG44生长及其机制研究

该文初步探讨了环吡酮胺(ciclopirox olamine, CPX)抑制人胶质瘤细胞SHG44生长的作用和机制。该研究用梯度浓度的CPX处理人胶质瘤细胞SHG44后,通过MTT实验检测药物半抑制浓度IC50和细胞增殖能力;应用平板克隆实验检测细胞克隆形成能力; Transwell小室和细胞划痕实验检测细胞侵袭和迁移能力;流式细胞术检测细胞内活性氧(reactive oxygen species, ROS)、线粒体内ROS以及细胞凋亡的变化; Seahorse XF96 Flux analysis分析仪检测细胞耗氧率(oxygen consumption rate, OCR);实时荧光定量PCR(q PCR)和Western blot技术检测细胞内m RNA和蛋白的变化。结果表明:SHG44对CPX药物敏感; CPX能使STAT3在m RNA转录水平和蛋白表达水平下降,抑制SHG44的迁移和侵袭,同时,促进线粒体ROS的累积,最终破坏线粒体功能,抑制细胞生长并促进细胞凋亡。该研究结果提示,CPX具有一定的抗胶质瘤细胞SHG44生长的作用,有望成为一种治疗胶质瘤的药物。     

Conformational solution studies of the SDS micelle-bound 11-28 fragment of two Alzheimer's beta-amyloid variants (E22K and A21G) using CD, NMR, and MD techniques

The beta-amyloid (Abeta) is the major peptide constituent of neuritic plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its aggregation is believed to play a central role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Naturally occurring mutations resulting in changes in the Abeta sequence (pos. 21-23) are associated with familial AD-like diseases with extensive cerebrovascular pathology. It was proved that the mutations alter the aggregation ability of Abeta and its neurotoxicity. Among five mutations at positions 21-23 there are two mutations with distinct clinical characteristics and potentially distinct pathogenic mechanism-the Italian (E22K) and the Flemish (A21G) mutations. In our studies we have examined the structures of the 11-28 fragment of the Italian and Flemish Abeta variants. The fragment was chosen because it has been shown to be the most important for amyloid fibril formation. The detailed structure of both variants Abeta(11-28) was determined using CD, 2D NMR, and molecular dynamics techniques under water-SDS micelle conditions. The NMR analysis revealed two distinct sets of proton resonances for the peptides. The studies of both peptides pointed out the existence of well-defined alpha-helical conformation in the Italian mutant, whereas the Flemish was found to be unstructured with the possibility of a bent structure in the central part of the peptide.     

Copulation behaviour of Glossina pallidipes (Diptera: Muscidae) outside and inside the female, with a discussion of genitalic evolution

If species-specific male genitalia are courtship devices under sexual selection by cryptic female choice, then species-specific aspects of the morphology and behaviour of male genitalia should often function to stimulate the female during copulation. The morphology and behaviour of the complex, species-specific male genitalia of the tsetse fly, Glossina pallidipes Austen, were determined from both direct observations and dissections of flash-frozen copulating pairs; we found that some male genitalic traits probably function to stimulate the female, while others function to restrain her. The male clamps the ventral surface of the female's abdomen tightly with his powerful cerci. Clamping does not always result in intromission. Clamping bends the female's body wall and her internal reproductive tract sharply, posteriorly and dorsally, and pinches them tightly. The male performed sustained, complex, stereotyped, rhythmic squeezing movements with his cerci that were not necessary to mechanically restrain the female and appeared instead to have a stimulatory function. Six different groups of modified setae on and near the male's genitalia rub directly against particular sites on the female during squeezing. The designs of these setae correlate with the force with which they press on the female and the probable sensitivity of the female surfaces that they contact. As expected under the hypothesis that these structures are under sexual selection by female choice, several traits suspected to have stimulatory functions have diverged in G. pallidipes and its close relative, G. longipalpis. Additional male non-genitalic behaviour during copulation, redescribed more precisely than in previous publications, is also likely to have a courtship function. The elaborate copulatory courtship behaviour and male genitalia may provide the stimuli that previous studies showed to induce female ovulation and resistance to remating.     

The structure of the O-polysaccharide from the lipopolysaccharide of Providencia alcalifaciens O36 containing 3-deoxy-d-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid

An oligosaccharide that corresponds to the repeating unit of the O-polysaccharide was obtained by mild acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharide of Providencia alcalifaciens O36. Structural studies of the oligosaccharide and O-deacylated lipopolysaccharide were performed using sugar and methylation analyses along with (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, including 2D (1)H,(1)H COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, and H-detected (1)H,(13)C HSQC and HMBC experiments. It was found that the O-polysaccharide is built up of linear trisaccharide repeating units containing 2-acetamido-2-deoxyglucose, 6-deoxy-l-talose (l-6dTal), and 3-deoxy-d-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (Kdo) and has the following structure. [structure: see text]     

Structure of the O-polysaccharide and serological cross-reactivity of the lipopolysaccharide of Providencia alcalifaciens O32 containing N-acetylisomuramic acid

The O-polysaccharide was obtained by mild acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharide of Providencia alcalifaciens O32 and studied by sugar and methylation analyses, solvolysis with triflic acid, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, including two-dimensional 1H,1H COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, H-detected 1H,13C HSQC and HMBC experiments. It was found that the polysaccharide has a branched tetrasaccharide repeating unit containing 2-acetamido-3-O-[(S)-1-carboxyethyl]-2-deoxy-D-glucose (D-GlcNAc3Slac, N-acetylisomuramic acid) with the following structure: [STRUCTURE: SEE TEXT]. Serological studies with O-antisera showed antigenic relationships between P. alcalifaciens O32 and O29 as well as several other Providencia and Proteus strains sharing putative epitopes on the O-polysaccharides.     

Sonic hedgehog in the pharyngeal endoderm controls arch pattern via regulation of Fgf8 in head ectoderm

Fgf8 signalling is known to play an important role during patterning of the first pharyngeal arch, setting up the oral region of the head and then defining the rostral and proximal domains of the arch. The mechanisms that regulate the restricted expression of Fgf8 in the ectoderm of the developing first arch, however, are not well understood. It has become apparent that pharyngeal endoderm plays an important role in regulating craniofacial morphogenesis. Endoderm ablation in the developing chick embryo results in a loss of Fgf8 expression in presumptive first pharyngeal arch ectoderm. Shh is locally expressed in pharyngeal endoderm, adjacent to the Fgf8-expressing ectoderm, and is thus a candidate signal regulating ectodermal Fgf8 expression. We show that in cultured explants of presumptive first pharyngeal arch, loss of Shh signalling results in loss of Fgf8 expression, both at early stages before formation of the first arch, and during arch formation. Moreover, following removal of the endoderm, Shh protein can replace this tissue and restore Fgf8 expression. Overexpression of Shh in the non-oral ectoderm leads to an expansion of Fgf8, affecting the rostral-caudal axis of the developing first arch, and resulting in the formation of ectopic cartilage. Shh from the pharyngeal endoderm thus regulates Fgf8 in the ectoderm and the role of the endoderm in pharyngeal arch patterning may thus be indirectly mediated by the ectoderm.