Solution conformation and dynamics of a tetrasaccharide related to the LewisX antigen deduced by NMR relaxation measurements

¹H-NMR cross-relaxation rates and nonselectivelongitudinal relaxation times have been obtained at two magnetic fields (7.0and 11.8 T) and at a variety of temperatures for the branchedtetrasaccharide methyl3-O--N-acetyl-galactosaminyl--galactopyranosyl-(14)[3-O--fucosyl]-glucopyranoside (1), an inhibitor of astrocyte growth. Inaddition, ¹³C-NMR relaxation data have also been recorded atboth fields. The ¹H-NMR relaxation data have been interpretedusing different motional models to obtain proton–proton correlationtimes. The results indicate that the GalNAc and Fuc rings display moreextensive local motion than the two inner Glc and Gal moieties, since thosepresent significantly shorter local correlation times. The¹³C-NMR relaxation parameters have been interpreted in termsof the Lipari–Szabo model-free approach. Thus, order parameters andinternal motion correlation times have been deduced. As obtained for the¹H-NMR relaxation data, the two outer residues possess smallerorder parameters than the two inner rings. Internal correlation times are inthe order of 100 ps. The hydroxymethyl groups have also different behaviour,with the exocyclic carbon on the glucopyranoside unit showing the highestS². Molecular dynamics simulations using a solvated systemhave also been performed and internal motion correlation functions have beendeduced from these calculations. Order parameters and interproton distanceshave been compared to those inferred from the NMR measurements. The obtainedresults are in fair agreement with the experimental data.     

Conservation and management issues of Prespa National Park

The present article describes the human activities inthe area and their changes and trends, given that thecontemporary nature conservation key issues areclosely related to past and present socio-economic andcultural conditions, both within Prespa itself andoutside of it. The liberation of Prespa, a remote andrather socially isolated borderline area, from Ottoman occupation took place in 1912–13. Recentevents in its environmental history have been forestclearings and human depopulation in the Civil War(1944–49), irrigation system construction in the1960s, its discovery by ornithologists in the late1960s, the high emigration rates of 1960–1980, itsdesignation as a National Park in 1974, thedestructive development works of 1984–86 afterGreeces entry to the EEC and the conversion to intensivebean cultivation in the mid 1980s.The human population of ca 7000 at the start of thiscentury suffered an almost 80% decrease after theCivil War. A resettlement in the mid 1950s increasedthe population by 40% but in the 1970s emigrationreduced it to its previous size of around 1500, stillits present size. The extensive and diverse farmingsystems of previous centuries changed gradually afterthe construction of an irrigation network in the1960s, which twenty years later and along withinternational changes in production and economypatterns, made possible the present day domination ofa bean monoculture within irrigated croplands. Thiswas accompanied by increased energy inputs,mechanisation and the use of chemicals.Intensification of agriculture brought increasedincomes which attracted also livestock keepers,resulting in a 56% decrease in numbers of livestockin 1964–1993. Cattle are presently kept for meatproduction only. They graze on the mountains, and nolonger in the meadows around the lakeshore. A localshorthorn breed accounting for 93% of all cattle in1963 declined to less than 18% in 1993. Fishing aimedmainly at carp and Prespa bleak, continues today as inthe past to be a source of supplementary income.Eighty-six per cent of the – mainly oak and beech –forests are State owned and the rest belong to localmunicipalities. The forest area has not changedessentially in the last 40 years, but forest roadshave expanded. Forests provide mainly fuelwood forlocal needs and small quantities of industrial timber.No specific management is conducted to safeguard theconservation values of the forest, the majority ofwhich consists of even aged coppiced stands withlimited value for wildlife. Manufacturing never playedan important role for the economy of the area. Tourismhas increased in the last 20 years, concentratedmainly in summer and spring. Accommodation in thevillages is not yet satisfactory though it hasimproved enormously in recent years. The NationalParks infrastructure for visitors remains poor.Tourist pressure generally is not yet that high toimpact drastically the social and environmentalfabric. In places, hunting, angling and poaching cannegatively affect the target species. The constructionof the irrigation network in the eastern part of LakeMikri Prespa was the most important change to thelandscape and the habitats of Prespa the last 30years. It resulted in the embankment of free-flowingstreams, drainage of wet meadows and dramaticreduction of trees and hedges. In the last 15 years,the reedbeds, no longer burnt or mowed and assisted byincreased nutrient loadings from agricultural runoff,have expanded landward to occupy formerly open,periodically flooded, areas. The above changes inhabitats and land use have brought an impoverishmentof biodiversity which can be seen in the exterminationor the decrease in the numbers of certain plant andbird species.The problems preventing a better management of theNational Park and the perpetuation of its values areinappropriate legislation, the poor degree ofcoordination of the public services, the lack of botha specific National Park Service in Greece and amanagement authority for the Park and the hostileattitude of local people due to their limitedinformation and involvement. The scenic beauty, thewetlands and a number of rare habitats, the diversityof habitats, flora and fauna, the endemic life forms,the rare mammals and the colonial waterbirds, thelocal architecture and the cultural expressions suchas the Byzantine monuments, are the values of Prespathat must be preserved as a whole. The initialconservation efforts aimed at preserving biodiversitybut later it became apparent that not only are humansan inseparable part of the whole, but additionally,several of their extensive activities have contributedsubstantially to the rich biodiversity of the area.Through the prerequisites of keeping a balance betweenprimary and tertiary sector activities and ofrevitalizing the social fabric, the following are thekey management and conservation issues of today: anunequivocal agreement on the values to be preservedand their limits; the formation of a managementauthority; a new realistic protection and land usezoning; the diversification and extensification of allfarming activities; the restoration of the wet meadowhabitats; the ensuring of a high water level and agood water quality for both lakes through tri-lateralcooperation between Greece, Albania and FYROM; and theestablishment of a permanent environmental monitoringscheme.     

Die Anwendung einer ‘deduktiven Methode syntaxonomischer Klassifikation’ bei der Bearbeitung der strassenbegleitenden Pflanzengesellschaften Nordostböhmens

Zusammenfassung In der vorgelegten Arbeit wurde die sogenante deduktive Klassifikationsmethode der anthropogenen Pflanzengesellschaften behandelt. Diese Methode geht vom System der höheren Vegetationseinheiten der Braun-Blanquet Schule aus. Sie ermöglicht die syntaxonomische Bearbeitung zahlreicher anthropogener Gesellschaften unserer Kulturlandschaft, die nur aus Arten mit breiterer ökologischer und zönologischer Amplitude zusammengesetzt sind, und zwar ohne unerwünschte Verwechslung der Bestimmungsmerkmale einzelner Rangstufen des Systems (Klassen-, Ordnungs-, Verbands- und Assoziationskenn-und trennarten). Die Grundprinzipien der Methode wurden schon früher von Kopecký & Hejný (1971, 1973, 1974) und Kopecký (1976) erläutert. Die vorliegende Arbeit bringt eine präzisierte Auslegung der Methode auf Grund neuer Erfahrungen, die bei der Bearbeitung der spontan entstandenen strassenbegleitenden Gesellschaften derMolinio-Arrhenatheretea Tx. 1937 in Nordostböhmen gewonnen wurden. Aus dem reichen Aufnahmematerial werden nur einige Aufnahmen der Basalgesellschaften mitAlopecurus pratensis und der von ihnen abgeleiteten Derivatgesellschaften mitDactylis glomerata undAgropyron repens fur die anschauliche Demonstration der Methode beigegeben (Tab. 1 und 2). Die Aufnahmen der übrigen Gesellschafts-typen werden in einer anderen Arbeit (Kopecký 1978) veröffentlicht.

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Summary Use of a so-called deductive method in syntaxonomic classification of roadside plant communities in NE Bohemia.The present paper explains the so-called deductive method of syntaxonomic classification of plant communities, derived from the system of syntaxa of higher rank of the Braun-Blanquet approach. This method enables the synthesis of vegetations units of the varied anthropogenic plant communities in the man-made landscape, and their arrangement within the existing system, without changing the classification and determination criteria of both the higher and lower syntaxa in this system. Basic principles of this method have been outlined earlier by Kopecký & Hejný (1971, 1973, 1974) and Kopecký (1976). Following the newly obtained data and experience, this paper brings further details and more precise explanation of the method. Recently, the deductive method has been applied to the classification of turf communities which spontaneously develop along the roads in NE Bohemia. In order to illustrate the principles of the method, selected relevés of basal communities withAlopecurus pratensis (Table 1), and respective communities derived from these basal communities (Table 2) are presented. A complete set of vegetation relevés of all other roadside communities will be published elsewhere (Kopecký 1978).

Die wissenschaftlichen Pflanzennamen sind nach Rothmaler et al. (1966) angeführt.     

“dendRoAnalyst”: A tool for processing and analysing dendrometer data

Dendrometers are vital tools for studying the response of trees to intra-annual environmental changes in different temporal resolutions, ranging from hourly, daily to weekly time resolution. Dendrometers are increasingly used in forest management and tree physiological studies. Besides the data analysis, data processing is also challenging, time-consuming and potentially error-prone due to the immense number of measurements generated by self-registering electronic dendrometers. We present the package ‘dendRoAnalyst’ based on R statistical software to process and analyse dendrometer data using various approaches. This package offers algorithms for handling and pre-cleaning of dendrometer data before the application of subsequent data analytical steps. This includes identifying and erasing artefacts in dendrometer datasets not related to actual stem circumference change, identifying data gaps within records, and the possibility of change(s) in temporal resolution. Furthermore, the package can calculate different daily statistics of dendrometer data, including the daily amplitude of tree growth. The package dendRoAnalyst is therefore intended to facilitate researchers with a collection of functions for handling and analysing dendrometer data.     

Molecular phylogeny and diversity of penaeid shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda) from South-East Asian waters

The decapod family Penaeidae comprises most of the economically important marine shrimp species. Its members are widespread throughout the world, with its highest species diversity centred in the Indo-West Pacific region. Despite this importance, their taxonomy, classification and phylogeny are not yet settled due in part to incongruence among hypotheses proposed from molecular versus morphological studies. In this study, using a thorough taxonomic sampling of especially the South-East Asian species, we aim to (a) utilize a reconstructed phylogeny to test the monophyly of the Penaeidae and its currently recognized genera and (b) explore its species diversity in South-East Asian waters. To infer the phylogeny, a combined gene data set (including 109 ingroup and six outgroup taxa) of mitochondrial genes, COI and 16S rRNA, and two nuclear genes, NaK and PEPCK, was utilized. To explore its diversity, another data set that included 371 COI gene sequences (231 newly generated and 140 retrieved from public sources) was compiled and subsequently analysed with two different tools (ABGD and bPTP) for species delimitation. Other than supporting the non-monophyly of the Penaeidae with the Sicyoniidae nested within the penaeid tribe Trachypenaeini, the genera Penaeus, Mierspenaeopsis and Parapenaeopsis were also revealed to be polyphyletic. Our species delimitation analysis inferred that 94 putative species actually existed within the 71 morphospecies reviewed, indicating an underestimated biodiversity in this family and the potential presence of new species within the following morphospecies: Kishinouyepenaeopsis cornuta, K. incisa, Mierspenaeopsis sculptilis, M hardwicki, Parapenaeopsis coromandelica and Penaeus monodon.     

对新型冠状病毒肺炎继发真菌感染的思考

新型冠状病毒肺炎(coronavirus disease 2019,COVID-19)疫情十分严重,给民众的健康带来了巨大威胁。COVID-19患者可能继发侵袭性真菌感染,会严重威胁患者的生命,因此,在诊治策略上应该给予重视。除了加强高危患者中病原真菌的常规检查外,还应加大力度支持和扶持病原真菌先进检测技术的研发;此外,还应重点支持针对医疗单位、公共场所和家庭等常温环境以及体表和器物表面灭活病毒、细菌、真菌等病原体的新型技术和方法的研发。最终为国家战胜COVID-19和继发感染疫情提供新措施和新策略。     

Variation in the methods leads to variation in the interpretation of biodiversity–ecosystem multifunctionality relationships

生物多样性常常和生态系统多功能性(生态系统同时提供多个生态系统功能的能力)正相关。然而,生物多样性与生态系统多功能性的关系是否依赖于生态系统功能的数目有诸多争议。其中,生物多样性对生态系统多功能性的影响或许不随生态系统功能数目的变化而变化,或者随生态系统功能数目的增多而增强。我们期望通过研究不同生态系统多功能性指数的统计原理来解决这些争议。 我们使用了模型模拟和一系列来自不同空间尺度(从局域到全球)和不同生物群系(温带和高寒草地、森林和干旱地)的经验数据。我们回顾了量化生态系统多功能性的三种方法,包括平均值法、加和法和阈值法。我们发现随着生态系统功能数目的增加,生物多样性与生态系统多功能性的关系要么不变,要么增强。这些结果可由平均和加和的多功能性指数的统计原理来解释。具体来讲,当利用生态系统功能的平均值计算多功能性指数时,由于多样性对多功能性的效应等于多样性对单个生态系统功能效应的平均值,所以不会随生态系统功能数目的变化而变化。同样的道理,当利用单个生态系统的加和值计算多功能性指数时,多样性的效应会随着生态系统功能数目的增加而增强。我们提出了一个改进的多功能性指数,将平均或加和多功能性指数转化为标准化的多功能性指数, 以便于对不同研究的结果进行比较。此外,我们提出了基于变量数值范围的标准化方法来解决阈值法的数学假象问题(多样性效应随生态系统功能数目的增加而增强)。我们的研究结果表明,量化多功能性指数的方法不同,结果也不同。因此,有必要加深对不同方法数理基础的理解。而标准化的多功能性指数为比较不同研究中的生物多样性与生态系统多功能性的关系提供了有效的方法。     

污染场地土壤生态风险评估研究进展

随着我国快速城市化以及产业结构的调整,遗留下了大量的污染场地,发展和实施污染场地土壤生态风险评估是进行大规模污染场地修复行动的必要条件。本文围绕污染场地土壤生态风险评估的科学原理、框架构建及技术方法等方面的关键问题: 1)评估框架的场地实际针对性;2)概念模型的不确定性;3)土壤复合污染毒性机制;4)评估终点筛选;5)评估方法和框架构建等展开讨论,指出土壤复合污染的制毒机制,即污染物生物有效性和联合效应是污染场地土壤生态风险评估的关键科学问题。耦合美国环保局四步法和欧盟层级法的“证据-权重法”评估框架适用于野外复杂环境条件下的土壤污染生态风险评估。建议今后重点开展以下5个方面的工作: 1)污染场地土壤生态风险评估技术框架与风险管控技术框架之间的联合;2)概念模型研究;3)基于过程的场地土壤污染物反应运移模型研究;4)场地土壤复合污染生态毒理学机制研究;5)生态系统高水平生态风险评估终点研究。旨在为形成我国本土污染场地土壤生态风险评估技术指南提供理论基础和构架。     

A trait-based approach predicting community assembly and dominance of microbial invasive species

Understanding the mechanisms underlying community assembly helps to define success and susceptibility to biological invasions. Here, we explored phytoplankton community assembly following niche and neutral paradigms and using a trait-based approach. Under the hypothesis that the morphology-based functional groups (MBFG) clusters species with similar niche, we analysed how trait-related differences in fitness influence dominance of an invasive species. This was based on literature review, field data and model simulations. We predict that invading species can be dominant if: 1) do not belong to the local MBFG but use unexploited areas of the niche, or 2) belong to the resident MBFG but exhibit a higher fitness due to a particular combination of traits. The invasive dinoflagellate Ceratium furcoides was used as the model species to evaluate these hypotheses, its morphological (e.g. volume) and physiological (e.g. growth rates) traits were compared with species from the same (V: photosynthetic flagellates) and different (VII: colonial cyanobacteria) MBFG. Fitness was estimated using models parametrized with MBFG rates (R*, ability to draw down phosphate) under different environmental conditions (i.e. flushing). Results contributed to support both hypotheses. First, the alternation of C. furcoides and cyanobacteria dominance was explained by the use of different niches. Secondly, species from MBFG V were dominant under similar environments. Within this group V C. furcoides showed higher fitness under low flushing and high predation, advantage provided by a distinctive combination of traits. The application of trait-based approaches to represent the niche and estimate fitness along environmental gradients was useful to evaluate community assembly and can be used to predict the dominance of microbial species invasions.