再论可持续性科学: 新形势与新机遇

近10年来,可持续性科学蓬勃发展,已成为21世纪全球普遍关注的一个重要的新科学领域.然而,在大力提倡可持续发展和生态文明建设的中国,可持续性科学尚未引起科学家和实践者的足够重视.为促进可持续性科学在中国的发展,2014年邬建国等曾撰文介绍什么是可持续性科学.本文进一步探讨了这一问题,并补充阐述了可持续性科学与可持续发展研究的关系、可持续性科学的科学范式及其8个基本论题.基于对可持续性科学发展动态的分析,作者认为,一方面,可持续性科学已进入系统推进的成熟发展期;另一方面,虽然我国可持续发展研究、实践与教育的热情高涨,但在可持续性科学领域起步较晚,落后于主要发达国家和南非.为此,本文在文献综述的基础上,提出促进中国发展可持续性科学的“三位一体”策略:一是“请进来”以服务中国实践;二是“走出去”以贡献中国智慧;三是“中西医结合”以引领学科发展.     

灌溉方法与施氮对土壤水分、硝态氮和小麦生长发育的调控效应

为探明玉米秸秆还田下小麦的合理灌溉与施肥方法,于田间研究了漫灌(FI)、微喷灌(SI)、滴灌(DI)和灌水施氮模式(N₁, 基施纯N 157.5 kg·hm^-2+拔节期施纯N 67.5 kg·hm^-2; N₂, 基施纯N 157.5 kg·hm^-2+拔节期施纯N 45.0 kg·hm^-2+灌浆期施N 22.5 kg·hm^-2)对土壤水分、硝态氮(NO₃^--N)含量和小麦生长发育的影响.结果表明: 灌溉方法和灌水施氮模式共同影响土壤含水量和贮水量的变化.其中,灌溉方法对越冬期和返青期0～60 cm、孕穗期和灌浆期0～160 cm、成熟期100～160 cm土层含水量影响相对较小,对越冬期和返青期80～160 cm、成熟期0～80 cm土层含水量影响大;FI对含水量和贮水量影响最大,DI次之,SI最小;SI和DI的灌水施氮模式中灌水量多,则土层含水量高、贮水量多,变化大.NO₃^--N含量受灌溉方法和施氮的影响,施氮对0～20 cm土层影响大,SI生育期NO₃^--N含量变化大,DI越冬期至孕穗期NO₃^--N含量变化小,此后变化大,FI与DI相反;生育前中期灌水量对NO₃^--N含量影响大,后期施氮对NO₃^--N含量影响大;SI和DI的2种灌水施氮模式中冬前灌水量多的NO₃^--N含量变化大.灌溉方法中SI越冬期总茎数和单株分蘖高,成穗率高,成穗数多,产量、水分利用效率(WUE)和氮素利用效率最高,滴灌次之,漫灌最低;SI和DI中N₁生育期总茎数、成穗数多,但穗粒数和千粒重低,产量、WUE和氮素利用效率低于N₂.因此,玉米秸秆还田后播种小麦,微喷灌代替漫灌生育期灌4水,施足基肥,拔节期和灌浆期分次追氮,是山西南部小麦-玉米一年两熟区小麦节水高产高效栽培模式.     

脑血管内皮细胞Prmt5在脑血管发育过程中的表达及其下游靶分子

目的:研究内皮细胞中蛋白精氨酸甲基转移酶5(PRMT5)在脑血管发育及血脑屏障建成的关键时期的表达变化及其潜在下游靶分子。方法:原位观察PRMT5在小鼠不同发育时期脑血管内皮上的分布;流式分选获得原代脑血管内皮,利用real-time PCR分析Prmt5的表达;体外培养小鼠内皮细胞敲降Prmt5后,利用Western印迹、real-time PCR、ChIP等方法检测其对经典下游分子的影响。结果:PRMT5在胚胎期各时间点的脑血管内皮细胞质均有表达,小鼠出生后主要表达在脑血管内皮细胞核,在胚胎期18.5 d时表达量显著升高;小鼠脑血管内皮细胞体外细胞系中基因敲降Prmt5后,其经典对称甲基化组蛋白产物H4R3me2s及H3R2me2s均明显下降,Bmp4表达显著上调;免疫共沉淀实验提示Bmp4启动子区域组蛋白具有H3R2me2s修饰,Prmt5基因敲降后,该组蛋白修饰显著减少。结论:脑血管发育过程中PRMT5在脑血管内皮细胞中表达的位置和水平均发生变化,脑血管内皮细胞中PRMT5可以调节H4R3和H3R2对称二甲基化水平,Bmp4启动子区域组蛋白具有H3R2me2s修饰,且PRMT5可以抑制Bmp4表达。     

Effects of chemical pollutants on reproductive and developmental processes in Italian amphibians

It is a widely held belief that environmental contaminants contribute to the decline of amphibian populations. By spending most of their early life in water and later stages on the land, amphibians face a constant risk of exposure to pesticides and other chemical pollutants in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. This review presents an overview of the studies carried out in Italian amphibians to highlight hazardous effects of bioaccumulation of chemical pollutants in juveniles and adults in various contaminated environments. Further, the studies in the laboratory setting assessing the effects of chemical pollutants on reproductive and developmental processes are reported. These studies and their relative references have been summarized in a tabular form. Three prominent contaminant groups were identified: herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides; and only a few works reported the effects of other chemical pollutants. Each pollutant group has been delegated to a section. All through the literature survey, it is seen that interest in this topic in Italy is very recent and sparse, where only a few anuran and caudata species and only some chemical pollutants have been studied.     

Resveratrol improved the developmental potential of oocytes after vitrification by modifying the epigenetics

Resveratrol (Res) has been reported to be able to improve oocyte vitrification because of its antioxidative properties. The objective of this study was to further assess the positive effect of Res addition on the developmental potential of vitrified mouse oocytes from the perspective of epigenetic alterations. First, 2 μM Res was chosen as the optimal concentration on the basis of its effects on survival and its antioxidative properties. We found that Res addition significantly promoted fertilization (63.8% vs. 42.9%) and blastocyst formation (68.3% vs. 50.2%) after oocyte vitrification. The quality of the derived blastocysts was also higher after Res treatment. Regarding epigenetic aspects, the expression of the important deacetylase SIRT1 was found to decrease significantly upon vitrification, but it was rescued by Res. The abnormal levels of H3K9 acetylation and DNA methylation in vitrified oocytes were restored by Res addition. Moreover, the expression of several imprinted genes was affected by oocyte vitrification. Among them, abnormal Gtl2 and Peg3 expression levels were restored by Res addition. Therefore, the methylation of their imprinted control regions (ICRs) was examined. Surprisingly, the abnormal patterns of Gtl2 and Peg3 methylation in blastocysts developed from vitrified oocytes were both restored by Res addition. Finally, the full‐term embryonic development showed that the birth rate was improved significantly by Res addition (56.2% vs. 38.1%). Collectively, Res was beneficial for the pre‐ and postimplantation embryonic development. Except for the antioxidative activity, Res also played a role in the correction of some abnormal epigenetic modifications caused by oocyte vitrification.     

Role of putrescine in ovary and embryo development in fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx during embryonic diapause

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of putrescine on ovarian activity and the rate of embryonic development in Cynopterus sphinx during delayed development. The result showed the presence of a rate‐limiting enzyme, ornithine decarboxylase‐1, in both ovary and utero‐embryonic unit of C. sphinx suggests a synthesis of putrescine in these sites. The corpus luteum showed increased, whereas utero‐embryonic unit showed decreased production of putrescine during delayed development as compared with the normal development. The bat treated in vivo with putrescine during delayed development showed increase in progesterone and estradiol synthesis, correlated with increased expression of luteinizing hormone receptor, steroidogenic acute receptor protein, and 3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase through extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK1/2)‐mediated pathway in the ovary; but showed increase in the weight and expression of progesterone receptor (PR), B‐cell lymphoma 2, proliferating cell nucleus antigen, and vascular endothelial growth factor proteins in utero‐embryonic unit. The in vitro treatment of putrescine showed stimulatory whereas treatment with an inhibitor of putrescine, 2‐difluoromethylornithine caused an inhibitory effect on ovarian progesterone synthesis and cell proliferation, and cell survival in the utero‐embryonic unit. In conclusion, the putrescine showed two separate roles during embryonic diapause, high concentration of putrescine in the ovary may support corpus luteum and basal synthesis of progesterone, whereas a low level of putrescine causes retarded embryonic development by inhibiting cell proliferation in the utero‐embryonic unit. The bat treated with putrescine either directly promotes cell proliferation, cell survival, and angiogenic activities or acts indirectly increasing PR on utero‐embryonic unit thereby activating development in delayed embryo in C. sphinx.     

Helix aspersa as sentinel of development damage for biomonitoring purpose: A validation study

Environmental health has always been threatened by the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the terrestrial ecosystem, affecting its quality and safety. The aim of this review is to investigate the effects of heavy metal soil contamination, using the land snail Helix aspersa as a bioindicator. H. aspersa, a common species of land snail present in the area, has been used as a bioindicator of metal contamination and represents a promising ecological indicator. Various land snails species have become popular in microcosm studies because they accumulate high concentrations of certain trace metals. They express contamination as a whole through ingestion of polluted foods, such as live plants, microorganisms, soil, and water and also through cutaneous contact and from the polluted air they breathe. Land snails are considered appropriate sentinel species because trace metals tend to accumulate in their digestive gland to allow biomonitoring of metal pollution. Different experiments demonstrate that exposure in areas chronically polluted with metals, especially with lead, often causes changes in reproduction, with a variation in the mineral composition in the snail's eggs and also in its development, due to increased energy expenses associated with detoxi?cation and the excretion process.