新疆生态用水量的初步估算

以新疆为例 ,在干旱区生态用水的概念与分类基础上 ,依据部分试验资料及理论公式推导结果 ,确定了各类生态用水的用水定额 ,并以林业、草场资源等统计数据为依据 ,对新疆 1 995年的生态用水进行了初步估算。结果表明 ,全疆生态用水总量达 2 3 7.9× 1 0 8m3。其地区分布情况是北疆占 1 7.8%,东疆占 5.4 %,南疆占 76.8%。就其类型而言 ,天然植被生态用水量最大 ,其中又以低地草甸为最大     

鄂尔多斯高原北缘水分梯度下天然植被分布格局初探

以鄂尔多斯高原杭锦旗北部独贵塔拉镇的过渡带为研究对象,通过样线调查,研究了水分梯度下天然植被的空间分布规律.TWINSPAN的分类结果表明,群落以中生和旱生为主,一些耐盐的植物散布其中;相邻样方间相似性指数的变化反映了不同类型群落在研究区内的镶嵌分布,从而形成了该区域内群落的多样性和复杂性.对植被样方与地形地貌因子的CCA排序结果显示,植被群落空间格局的形成更多地取决于区域内的水分变化梯度.在本文的研究尺度上,这种水分变化梯度主要由微地形地貌的变化来决定,而不是由与黄河的距离因子来决定.因此,在本区域的土地开发利用过程中,应充分考虑目前已经形成的相对稳定的地形地貌单元特点,在缺乏完善的风沙防护措施和排水除盐措施的情况下,不宜采取大规模平整土地进行综合开发.     

Air Pollution and Stillbirth Risk: Exposure to Airborne Particulate Matter during Pregnancy Is Associated with Fetal Death

Objective

To test the hypothesis that exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM_2.5) is associated with stillbirth.

Study Design

Geo-spatial population-based cohort study using Ohio birth records (2006-2010) and local measures of PM_2.5, recorded by the EPA (2005-2010) via 57 monitoring stations across Ohio. Geographic coordinates of the mother’s residence for each birth were linked to the nearest PM_2.5 monitoring station and monthly exposure averages calculated. The association between stillbirth and increased PM_2.5 levels was estimated, with adjustment for maternal age, race, education level, quantity of prenatal care, smoking, and season of conception.

Results

There were 349,188 live births and 1,848 stillbirths of non-anomalous singletons (20-42 weeks) with residence ≤10 km of a monitor station in Ohio during the study period. The mean PM_2.5 level in Ohio was 13.3 μg/m³ [±1.8 SD, IQR(Q1: 12.1, Q3: 14.4, IQR: 2.3)], higher than the current EPA standard of 12 μg/m³. High average PM_2.5 exposure through pregnancy was not associated with a significant increase in stillbirth risk, _adjOR 1.21(95% CI 0.96,1.53), nor was it increased with high exposure in the 1^st or 2^nd trimester. However, exposure to high levels of PM_2.5 in the third trimester of pregnancy was associated with 42% increased stillbirth risk, _adjOR 1.42(1.06,1.91).

Conclusions

Exposure to high levels of fine particulate air pollution in the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with increased stillbirth risk. Although the risk increase associated with high PM_2.5 levels is modest, the potential impact on overall stillbirth rates could be robust as all pregnant women are potentially at risk.     

巢湖蓝藻与农业废弃物共热解制取生物质油研究

采用蔗渣、玉米秸秆和棉花秸秆3种废弃物与蓝藻进行混合共热解试验,考察废弃物的加入对蓝藻热解液体产率及组分的影响。结果表明:添加3种废弃物均使共热解液体产率呈下降趋势。当蓝藻与废弃物以1∶1混合共热解时,以蓝藻和玉米秸秆共热解液体产率最高,为61.8%,且除苯酚类以外,液体产物组分与单一蓝藻热解产物组分相近,含氮化合物含量明显降低,相对含量由18.49%降至8.15%。与其它2种废弃物相比,蓝藻与玉米秸秆在适当比例下的共热解有利于改善热解油品质。     

Lipoprotein receptor LRP1 regulates leptin signaling and energy homeostasis in the adult central nervous system

Obesity is a growing epidemic characterized by excess fat storage in adipocytes. Although lipoprotein receptors play important roles in lipid uptake, their role in controlling food intake and obesity is not known. Here we show that the lipoprotein receptor LRP1 regulates leptin signaling and energy homeostasis. Conditional deletion of the Lrp1 gene in the brain resulted in an obese phenotype characterized by increased food intake, decreased energy consumption, and decreased leptin signaling. LRP1 directly binds to leptin and the leptin receptor complex and is required for leptin receptor phosphorylation and Stat3 activation. We further showed that deletion of the Lrp1 gene specifically in the hypothalamus by Cre lentivirus injection is sufficient to trigger accelerated weight gain. Together, our results demonstrate that the lipoprotein receptor LRP1, which is critical in lipid metabolism, also regulates food intake and energy homeostasis in the adult central nervous system.     

An evolutionary genomic approach to identify genes involved in human birth timing

Coordination of fetal maturation with birth timing is essential for mammalian reproduction. In humans, preterm birth is a disorder of profound global health significance. The signals initiating parturition in humans have remained elusive, due to divergence in physiological mechanisms between humans and model organisms typically studied. Because of relatively large human head size and narrow birth canal cross-sectional area compared to other primates, we hypothesized that genes involved in parturition would display accelerated evolution along the human and/or higher primate phylogenetic lineages to decrease the length of gestation and promote delivery of a smaller fetus that transits the birth canal more readily. Further, we tested whether current variation in such accelerated genes contributes to preterm birth risk. Evidence from allometric scaling of gestational age suggests human gestation has been shortened relative to other primates. Consistent with our hypothesis, many genes involved in reproduction show human acceleration in their coding or adjacent noncoding regions. We screened >8,400 SNPs in 150 human accelerated genes in 165 Finnish preterm and 163 control mothers for association with preterm birth. In this cohort, the most significant association was in FSHR, and 8 of the 10 most significant SNPs were in this gene. Further evidence for association of a linkage disequilibrium block of SNPs in FSHR, rs11686474, rs11680730, rs12473870, and rs1247381 was found in African Americans. By considering human acceleration, we identified a novel gene that may be associated with preterm birth, FSHR. We anticipate other human accelerated genes will similarly be associated with preterm birth risk and elucidate essential pathways for human parturition.     

Genomewide association scan of suicidal thoughts and behaviour in major depression

Background

Suicidal behaviour can be conceptualised as a continuum from suicidal ideation, to suicidal attempts to completed suicide. In this study we identify genes contributing to suicidal behaviour in the depression study RADIANT.

Methodology/Principal Findings

A quantitative suicidality score was composed of two items from the SCAN interview. In addition, the 251 depression cases with a history of serious suicide attempts were classified to form a discrete trait. The quantitative trait was correlated with younger onset of depression and number of episodes of depression, but not with gender. A genome-wide association study of 2,023 depression cases was performed to identify genes that may contribute to suicidal behaviour. Two Munich depression studies were used as replication cohorts to test the most strongly associated SNPs. No SNP was associated at genome-wide significance level. For the quantitative trait, evidence of association was detected at GFRA1, a receptor for the neurotrophin GDRA (p = 2e-06). For the discrete trait of suicide attempt, SNPs in KIAA1244 and RGS18 attained p-values of <5e-6. None of these SNPs showed evidence for replication in the additional cohorts tested. Candidate gene analysis provided some support for a polymorphism in NTRK2, which was previously associated with suicidality.

Conclusions/Significance

This study provides a genome-wide assessment of possible genetic contribution to suicidal behaviour in depression but indicates a genetic architecture of multiple genes with small effects. Large cohorts will be required to dissect this further.     

亚热带森林乔木树种DNA条形码研究——以哀牢山自然保护区为例

作为新一代植物志iFlora的重要组成部分,DNA条形码已经成为物种鉴定中重要且有效的方法。本研究以亚热带森林的乔木树种为研究对象,开展了DNA条形码的尝试性工作。为评估DNA条形码对鉴定亚热带森林树种的有效性,收集并研究了来自哀牢山自然保护区内5l科111属中204个树种的525个乔木个体。结果显示,所选4个DNA片段（rbcL,matK,trnH-psbA和ITS）的PCR扩增成功率都超过90％;测序成功率rbcL和matK最高,分别为90．7％和90．5％,trnH-psbA次之（83．6％）,ITS最低（73．5％）,表明4个片段在亚热带森林乔木中都具有较好的通用性。应用BLAST与NJ Tree两种方法,对物种和属水平的鉴别成功率进行统计,发现单片段中ITS最高,分别为68．4％-81．3％和99．0％～100％,核心条码rkL和matK组合的成功率是52．8％～60．2％和86．7％～90．5％,再与补充条码trnH-psbA和ITS联合,可以成功鉴别74．7％～79．6％哀牢山自然保护区亚热带森林中的乔木物种。由于ITS片段在亚热带森林部分重要树种类群（樟科和壳斗科等）中的测序成功率较差,所以对这些植物类群采用trnH-psbA作为DNA条形码是一个更好的选择。     

干旱与盐胁迫对花生根际土壤细菌群落结构和花生产量的影响

以花生品种花育25号为试验材料,采用盆栽试验研究了开花期干旱和盐分胁迫对花生生长发育和荚果产量的影响,并运用高通量测序技术分析干旱、盐胁迫及旱盐双重胁迫下,花生根际土壤细菌群落结构的变化特征。结果表明: 不同胁迫处理花生根际土壤细菌群落均以变形菌门、放线菌门、Saccharibacteria、绿弯菌门、蓝藻菌门和酸杆菌门为主。干旱、盐胁迫及旱盐双重胁迫均不同程度降低了变形菌门和放线菌门的相对丰度,但显著提高了蓝藻菌门的含量,且旱盐双重胁迫较其单一胁迫引起的根际蓝藻菌门丰度变化更显著。土壤细菌功能预测分析显示,信号转导机制、防御机制及翻译后修饰、蛋白质周转和分子伴侣等相关功能在旱盐双重胁迫的细菌中活性更强,可能对花生生长及胁迫应答具有重要影响。统计学分析显示,开花期干旱、盐胁迫和旱盐双重胁迫严重影响花生生长发育,并显著降低产量。研究结果可为通过改良土壤微生物环境来提高植物胁迫耐受性提供参考。