Acclimation to irradiance in seedlings of three tropical rain forest Garcinia species after simulated gap formation

We investigated the acclimation of seedlings of three tropical rain forest sub-canopy Garcinia species (G. xanthochymus, G. cowa, and G. bracteata) after transfer from 4.5 (LI) to 40 % (HI) sunlight and 12.5 (MI) sunlight to HI (LH₁ and LH₂ denoting transfer from LI to HI and MI to HI transfer, respectively). The changes of chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence, net photosynthetic rate (P _N), dark respiration rate (R _D), Chl content per unit area (Chl_area), leaf mass per unit area (LMA), and seedling mortality were monitored over two months after transfer. These parameters together with leaf anatomy of transferred and control seedlings (kept in LI, MI, and HI) were also examined after two months. No seedlings died during the two months. F_v/F_m, P _N, and Chl_area of the transferred seedlings decreased in the first 3 to 12 d. LH₁ leaves showed larger reduction in F_v/F_m (>23 % vs. <16 %) and slower recovery of F_v/F_m than LH₂ leaves. P _N started to recover after about one week of I transfer and approached higher values in all G. cowa seedlings and G. xanthochymus LH₁ seedlings than those before the transfer. However, P _N of G. bracteata seedlings approached the values before transfer. The final P _N values in leaves of transferred G. xanthochymus and G. cowa seedlings approached that of leaves kept in HI, while the final P _N values of transferred leaves of G. bracteata were significantly lower than that of leaves grown under HI (p<0.05). R _D of G. xanthochymus LH₁ seedlings and all G. cowa seedlings increased and approached the value of the seedlings in HI. The final Chl_area of both G. xanthochymus and G. cowa approached the values before transfer, but that of G. bracteata did not recover to the level before transfer. The final Chl_area of all transferred seedlings was not significantly different from that of seedlings in HI except that G. cowa LH₁ seedlings had higher Chl_area than that in HI. LMA decreased within 2 d and then increased continuously until about 30 d and approached the value under HI. Spongy/palisade mesophyll ratio decreased after transfer because of the increase in palisade thickness. Leaf thickness did not change, so LMA increase of transferred seedlings was mainly due to the increase of leaf density. Thus the mature leaves under LI and MI of G. xanthochymus and G. cowa are able to acclimate to HI by leaf physiological and anatomical adjustment, while G. bracteata had limited ability to acclimate to HI.     

Does contamination buildup limit throughput for automated cryoEM?

The development of automated systems for data acquisition in cryo electron microscopy has enabled the possibility of acquiring very large number of images from a single specimen grid. We have demonstrated that over images of 250,000 single particles can be acquired in a 24 h period. This has raised questions as to whether contamination buildup on the specimen limits the quality of the data that can be acquired during these long duration experiments and also whether the data acquisition session could be extended to allow acquisition of more than 1,000,000 particles. We report here a systematic characterization of contamination of specimens maintained for long periods of time at liquid nitrogen temperatures using standard side entry cryo stages. As part of this characterization we developed a more reliable method for accurately estimating specimen ice thickness. Using the method, we were able to calibrate image contrast against ice thickness under a variety of magnifications, objective aperture positions, and defoci, and demonstrated the strong dependence of the calibration curve on these parameters. The results show the anti-contamination aperture is, as expected, critical to the prevention of contamination and that loading film into the microscope dramatically increases the contamination rate, particularly in the first 3 h after the insertion of the film box. In the absence of film, we were able to reproducibly demonstrate that the contamination rate can be limited to a rate of approximately 1 angstrom/h providing reassurance that contamination will not be a major limiting factor for long term cryoEM experiments if a CCD camera is used for the imaging.     

Mitochondrial ND5 12338T>C variant is associated with maternally inherited hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a Chinese pedigree

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a primary disorder characterized by asymmetric thickening of the septum and left ventricular wall, which affects 1 in 500 individuals in the general population. Mutations in mitochondrial DNA have been found to be one of the most important causes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Here we report the clinical, genetic and molecular characterization of a Han Chinese family with a likely maternally transmitted hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Four (2 men/2 women) of 5 matrilineal relatives in this 3-generation family exhibited the variable severity and age at onset of 44 to 79years old. Sequence analysis of the entire mitochondrial DNA in this pedigree identified the known homoplasmic ND5 12338T>C variant. This mitochondrial DNA haplogroup belongs to the Eastern Asian F2a. The 12338T>C variant, highly evolutionarily conserved, resulted in the replacement of the translation initiating methionine with a threonine, shortening the ND5 polypeptide by 2 amino acids. The occurrence of ND5 12338T>C variant exclusively in maternal members of this Chinese family suggested that the 12338T>C variant is associated with maternally inherited hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Our findings will provide theoretical basis for genetic counseling of maternally inherited hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.     

Fire‐induced tree mortality in a neotropical forest: the roles of bark traits,tree size,wood density and fire behavior

Large‐scale wildfires are expected to accelerate forest dieback in Amazônia, but the fire vulnerability of tree species remains uncertain, in part due to the lack of studies relating fire‐induced mortality to both fire behavior and plant traits. To address this gap, we established two sets of experiments in southern Amazonia. First, we tested which bark traits best predict heat transfer rates (R) through bark during experimental bole heating. Second, using data from a large‐scale fire experiment, we tested the effects of tree wood density (WD), size, and estimated R (inverse of cambium insulation) on tree mortality after one to five fires. In the first experiment, bark thickness explained 82% of the variance in R, while the presence of water in the bark reduced the difference in temperature between the heat source and the vascular cambium, perhaps because of high latent heat of vaporization. This novel finding provides an important insight for improving mechanistic models of fire‐induced cambium damage from tropical to temperate regions. In the second experiment, tree mortality increased with increasing fire intensity (i.e. as indicated by bark char height on tree boles), which was higher along the forest edge, during the 2007 drought, and when the fire return interval was 3 years instead of one. Contrary to other tropical studies, the relationship between mortality and fire intensity was strongest in the year following the fires, but continued for 3 years afterwards. Tree mortality was low (≤20%) for thick‐barked individuals (≥18 mm) subjected to medium‐intensity fires, and significantly decreased as a function of increasing tree diameter, height and wood density. Hence, fire‐induced tree mortality was influenced not only by cambium insulation but also by other traits that reduce the indirect effects of fire. These results can be used to improve assessments of fire vulnerability of tropical forests.     

水、旱条件下水稻茎秆主要抗倒伏性状的QTL分析

以粳型旱稻IRAT109和粳型水稻越富杂交的116个DH株系的群体为材料,利用已构建的分子标记连锁图(包括94个RFLP标记和71个SSR标记),定位了水稻茎秆主要抗倒伏性状的QTL。在水田、旱田栽培条件下,考查了乳熟期DH系及其亲本的茎基粗、茎秆长及茎秆强度等性状。相关分析表明,茎基粗与茎秆长、茎基粗与茎秆强度及茎秆长与茎秆强度间均呈极显著正相关。利用QTLMAPPER进行水、旱田单环境定位分析及水、旱田联合定位分析定位了控制这些性状的QTL。水、旱田单环境定位分析结果表明：3个性状共检测到9个加性QTL和5对上位性QTL;联合定位分析表明：茎基粗、茎秆长共检测到6个加性QTL和6对上位性QTL,其中6个加性QTL和1对上位性QTL在两种方法下都检测到。旱田条件下检测到2个加性及2对上位性QTL(bctla、ct9、c16a-c16c和cs5-cs12)对表型变异的贡献率(简称贡献率)大于30％。这些高贡献率QTL可能对旱田条件下旱稻抗倒伏分子育种有重要意义。     

Impact of Weight Reduction on Early Carotid Atherosclerosis in Obese Premenopausal Women

Objective: To investigate the extent of carotid atherosclerosis and the effect of weight loss on carotid intima‐media thickness (IMT) in obese premenopausal women. Research Methods and Procedures: In 43 obese premenopausal women who participated in a 3‐month weight reduction program with a hypocaloric diet, IMT was measured by B‐mode high‐resolution ultrasound at entry and after 5 months of follow‐up. Blood samples were analyzed at entry, after intervention, and after 5 months of follow‐up. Nineteen lean women served as control subjects. Results: At entry, common carotid IMT (0.72 vs. 0.59 mm), carotid bulb IMT (0.90 vs. 0.71 mm), and overall mean IMT (0.81 vs. 0.65 mm) were greater in obese women than in lean women (all p < 0.01). After dietary intervention decreases in blood pressure, low density lipoprotein to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, triglycerides, fibrinogen, plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1, and an increase in tissue‐type plasminogen activator activity levels were observed. These effects persisted after follow‐up in 14 women who maintained reduced weight. Reduction in carotid bulb IMT (to 0.81 mm, p < 0.01) and overall mean IMT (to 0.79 mm, p < 0.05) was observed in this subgroup. No significant change of carotid IMT was detected in eight women who regained weight. Changes in IMT were associated independently and significantly with changes in body mass index, low density lipoprotein to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, and plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 antigen. Discussion: Obese premenopausal women had greater IMT than did age‐matched lean controls. It seems that this early atherosclerotic changes may be reversed by normalization of body weight.     

桉树人工林树液流动密度随边材径向深度的变化

树液流动密度 (SFD)随边材径向深度的变化对于准确估测流经边材的树液通量是非常重要的 ,后者又制约着HeatPulse的应用精度。但迄今为止 ,只有很少的研究估计了由于SFD随径向的梯度变化而带来的误差 ,SFD沿树干径向分布规律的获得往往依靠对少数几棵树的观测资料。基于在广东雷州半岛对两块 3～ 4年生桉树 (Euca lyptusurophyllaS .T .Blake)人工林 1年的HeatPulse观测 ,探讨了对来自 39株立木大量观测资料的综合处理方法 ,发现这两个样地 (纪家和河头 )的林分中SFD随边材径向深度的变化可以用如下回归方程来描述 :纪家 :y =3.6 6 75x3 - 7.2 95 5x2 3.6 82 6x 0 .5 6 74 (R2 =0 .9391,n =80 ,P =0 .0 1)河头 :y =5 .0 0 6 2x3 - 9.116 1x2 4.4 5 4 4x 0 .4 6 34(R2 =0 .80 6 9,n =72 ,P =0 .0 1)式中 :y———某一树液感应器所测得的SFD与不同深度的 4个感应器所测得的SFD的平均值之比 ;x—某一树液感应器在边材中的深度与边材厚度之比。从形成层到心材 ,SFD最初有所增加 ,随后持续减小 ,但由于树木年龄很小 ,最大的SFD只比最小的SFD大 0 .33～ 0 .36倍。     

Alternative rib bone biopsy measurements to estimate changes in skeletal mineral reserves in cattle

Rib bone biopsy samples are often used to estimate changes in skeletal mineral reserves in cattle but differences in sampling procedures and the bone measurements reported often make interpretation and comparisons among experiments difficult. ‘Full-core’ rib bone biopsy samples, which included the external cortical bone, internal cortical bone and trabecular bone (CB_ext, CB_int and Trab, respectively), were obtained from cattle known to be in phosphorus (P) adequate (P_adeq) or severely P-deficient (P_defic) status. Experiments 1 and 2 examined growing steers and Experiment 3 mature breeder cows. The thickness of cortical bone, specific gravity (SG), and the amount and concentration of ash and P per unit fresh bone volume, differed among CB_ext, CB_int and Trab bone. P concentration (mg/cc) was closely correlated with both SG and ash concentrations (pooled data, r=0.99). Thickness of external cortical bone (CBT_ext) was correlated with full-core P concentration (FC-P_conc) (pooled data, r=0.87). However, an index, the amount of P in CB_ext per unit surface area of CB_ext (PSACB; mg P/mm²), was more closely correlated with the FC-P_conc (pooled data, FC-P_conc=37.0+146×PSACB; n=42, r=0.94, RSD=7.7). Results for measured or estimated FC-P_conc in 10 published studies with cattle in various physiological states and expected to be P_adeq or in various degrees of P_defic status were collated and the ranges of FC-P_conc indicative of P adequacy and P deficiency for various classes of cattle were evaluated. FC-P_conc was generally in the range 130 to 170 and 100 to 120 mg/cc fresh bone in P_adeq mature cows and young growing cattle, respectively. In conclusion, the FC-P_conc could be estimated accurately from biopsy samples of CB_ext. This allows comparisons between studies where full-core or only CB_ext biopsy samples of rib bone have been obtained to estimate changes in the skeletal P status of cattle and facilitates evaluation of the P status of cattle.