Geology and fauna of the middle Miocene hominoid site at Muruyur,Baringo district,Kenya

The middle Miocene sediments assigned to the Muruyur Beds have yielded abundant faunal remains which indicate an age somewhere near the early part of the middle Miocene, perhaps being earlier in time than Fort Ternan but probably coeval or slightly later than Maboko. Available radioisotopic age determinations suggest that the beds are between 13.5 and 14 m.y. old, which seems to be too young when compared with the biostratigraphic estimate. The importance of Muruyur Beds lies in their rich fossil content which includes hominoids of an age which is in general poorly represented in East Africa’s fossil record. This article places the fossil discoveries on record, and discusses their geological context.     

Cytochemical studies of pectin digestion in epidermis with specific cell separation

Summary This investigation concerns a unique type of epidermal cells in the anther ofStrelitzia reginae. At dehiscence these cells are released and form multicellular threads. The radial and tangential middle lamella regions of their cell walls disintegrate by the formation of numerous growing and fusing cavities. The possibility that this process could be due to digestion by pectinase was elucidated by use of cytochemical methods. In immature ordinary and thread-forming cells staining for pectin with hydroxylamine-ferric chloride yielded reaction products mainly in the middle lamella region and the subcuticular layer. After the appearance of cavities reaction took place around but not inside these formations. Treatment with fungal pectinase caused degradation of cell walls in ordinary epidermal tissue. Mature cell walls appeared more resistant to the lytic action than immature ones. In thread-forming tissue, independent of the stage of maturation, digestion of the pectin rich regions was induced. However, the fungal enzyme was not able to produce cavities. No pectin reaction with hydroxylamine-ferric chloride was obtained after pectinase treatment.     

记同心铲齿象一幼年头骨化石

本文记述了一个采自宁夏同心丁家二沟的同心铲齿象幼年头骨。通过与PL.danovi.Pl.grangeri比较,进一步证明了Pl.tongxinensis的进化水平介于二者之间,并与后者的关系更为密切。笔者选择Phiomia和现生Elephas maximus为参照分析了同心头骨的进化特征。尽管三者不属于同一枝系,但表现在它们身上的性状变化仍可大体反映出长鼻类的进化趋向。     

FOSSIL BOVIDS FROM THE MIDDLE OLIGOCENE OF ULANTATAL, NEI MONGOL

Fossil of bovids was not known before Late Oligocene except Palaeohypsodontus asiaticus Trofimov, 1958, represented only by a broken mandible with M_2-M_3 and an isolated M_3. The discoovery of the new finds from the Middle Oligocene of Ulantatal provides new information regarding the dental morphology of the early bovids.     

黄河下游平原农业景观异质性对两栖类生物栖息地可用性的影响

以黄河下游典型平原农业景观封丘县为研究区,基于图论的分析方法,采用概率连通性指数(PC)和斑块重要值(dPC_k)表征池塘栖息地可用性程度,在地理信息系统和R软件的支持下,分析了两栖类物种在250、500、1000和2000 m不同扩散能力下,反映池塘栖息地组成和构型的池塘平均面积(MS)以及池塘数量(NP)、至道路的最近距离(DR)组合作用对池塘栖息地可用性的影响.结果表明: 两栖类栖息地的可利用性与池塘数量、池塘平均面积和至道路的最近距离关系密切.在250 m扩散能力下,池塘平均面积和池塘数量是决定池塘可利用程度高低的重要影响因素;在500 m扩散能力下,池塘平均面积和至道路的最近距离对栖息地可用性的影响最为显著;在物种相对较高扩散能力下(1000和2000 m),池塘平均面积和池塘数量是最主要的影响因素.在平原农业景观中,两栖类生物及其栖息地的保护要充分考虑池塘斑块的数量、平均面积以及至道路的最近距离.     

New Phoenicopsis leaves (Czekanowskiales) from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota,China and their roles in phytogeographic and paleoclimatic reconstruction

The Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation, distributed in the Daohugou area, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China, is famous for yielding abundant, well-preserved fossil vertebrates and invertebrates. However, only a few fossil plants have been reported to date. In this paper, one new species of Czekanowskiales, Phoenicopsis (Windwardia) daohugouensis n. sp. is described based upon leaf morphology and epidermal characters. The new species represents the first record of Czekanowskiales from the Daohugou Biota. The discovery of the new species reveals the significance of the Daohugou flora as one of the deciduous forests in the temperate-warm temperate zone of Eurasia during the Middle Jurassic.     

索拉非尼与干扰素治疗中、晚期肾细胞癌的临床效果比较

目的:探讨索拉非尼靶向治疗中、晚期肾细胞癌的临床效果及安全性。方法:收集2011年9月至2014年5月在我科室行肾细胞癌根治术或原发灶切除术等姑息性手术治疗的肿瘤直径≥7 cm,并术后经病理证实为中、晚期肾细胞癌,伴发转移病灶或静脉瘤栓的20例患者的临床资料。依据术后应用的辅助治疗方法将其分为索拉非尼靶向治疗组(8例)及干扰素免疫治疗组(12例),记录和比较两组患者的治疗效果、相关副反应的发生情况以及患者使用药物治疗后退出治疗的情况。结果:免疫治疗组的药物客观反应率(50%)低于较靶向治疗组(75%),总有效率(83.3%)亦低于靶向治疗组(87.5%),差异均无统计学意义(P0.05)。与靶向治疗组相比,免疫治疗组患者发热、口腔黏膜炎、手足综合征及皮疹等副反应的几率明显增高(P0.05)。免疫治疗组的患者退出治疗率明显高于靶向治疗组,组间比较差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:采用索拉非尼靶向治疗中、晚期肾细胞癌的效果要优于免疫治疗,且安全性更高。     

New information on the postcranial skeleton of Massetognathus ochagaviae Barberena, 1981 (Eucynodontia,Traversodontidae), from the Middle Triassic of Southern Brazil

New postcranial remains of Massetognathus ochagaviae are described based on a new specimen collected at the Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone from the Middle Triassic of Southern Brazil. Several isolated teeth collected together with the postcranial skeleton allowed a taxonomic assignation of the specimen to M. ochagaviae. Its postcranial morphology is quite similar to Massetognathus pascuali, especially regarding the morphology of the transverse process of presacral vertebrae (i.e. laminar in the anterior most and rounded in the posterior most presacral vertebrae); humerus (i.e. the head is dorsally deflected with a ‘fan-shaped’ distal end a deltopectoral crest abruptly ending at the middle of shaft); and femur (with a bulbous and dorsomedially inclined femoral head, lesser trochanter which abruptly begins near the intertrochanteric fossa and extending up to the middle of the femoral shaft and the medial condyle more pronounced and ventrally projected than the lateral one). On the other hand, the clavicle of M. ochagaviae is less lateromedially elongated than in M. pascuali.     

Rays of Hope from the Ecological Restoration Alliance of Botanic Gardens,following its recent meeting in Amman,Jordan

In the spring of 2015, the Ecological Restoration Alliance (ERA) of Botanic Gardens held its fourth international meeting in Amman, Jordan, hosted by the Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan. Three regional working groups were launched, for the Middle East, East Africa, and Latin America, and new partnerships were forged to support ecological restoration initiatives led by botanic gardens in Jordan, Oman, and elsewhere. A one‐day public symposium, attended by over 100 people, was also held—the most significant public meeting on ecological restoration held to date in the Middle East. A communications strategy for regional outreach was agreed upon starting with the translation of several Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) foundation documents into Arabic. A peer‐reviewed translation of the SER International Primer on Ecological Restoration has already been produced by staff of the Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan and posted on the SER website. Further efforts will be made to promote public awareness in Jordan and regionally, in support of existing conservation and restoration programs, and to promote greater integration of ecological restoration programs in national and regional development schemes and government policies. Key action points were agreed upon to promote the practice of ecological restoration and the role of botanic gardens globally vis‐à‐vis policy makers and funders.     

中老年心血管疾病患者肠道菌群的初步分析

本文对２４例心血管疾病中老年患者的肠道菌群进行了初步调查。结果表明四类菌群数均值（ＬＯＧ１０￣Ｎ／克湿便）,按从多到少的顺序分别是：双歧杆菌１０．２２±１．０６,类杆菌１０．１９±１．０９,肠球菌８．７５±０．７３,肠杆菌科８．６３±０．８７。并概要讨论了这些数据的意义。