Phylogenetic position of the Hawaiian geraniums based on rbcL Sequences

The seven currently recognized species of Geranium endemic to the Hawaiian Islands are unusual in their shrubby or arborescent habit and unlobed, parallel-veined leaves rather than the palmately cleft or lobed leaves and herbaceous habit typical of the genus. Their placement within the genus and their biogeographic source have been obscured by this morphological distictiveness and the limited resolution of relationships on the basis of morphology in the very speciose subgenus Geranium. Phylogenetic analysis of rbcL gene sequences provides strong support for the monophyly of the Hawaiian group, and indicates that the Hawaiian clade is deeply nested within section Geranium rather than comprising a separate section. The continental relatives studied to date with the greatest similarity in sequence to the Hawaiian group are native to the Americas rather than Asia or the Pacific. The Hawaiian species are extremely similar to one another in rbcL sequence, while the tree topology obtained is consistent with a basal position for Geranium arboreum within the group.     

Heat Generation and its Impact on Lamp Fouling During Cheese Whey Sterilization using Ultraviolet Radiation

Summary In previous studies we found that lamp fouling was a major limitation when tubular ultraviolet reactors were used for sterilization of cheese whey over an extended period of time. Heat generation by ultraviolet lamps causes the temperature of the flowing fluid to rise and thus enhances fouling. In this study, the heat generated by a low pressure mercury ultraviolet lamp during continuous sterilization of cheese whey in three tubular reactors having different gap sizes (18, 13 and 6 mm) was calculated using a heat balance formula. The technique quantified the heat produced in and lost from each reactor. The heat balance calculations showed that lamp heat generation decreased with decreasing gap size (50.48, 47.71 and 31.91 kJ/h for 18, 13 and 6 mm gap sizes, respectively). However, the heat gain per unit volume and consequently the steady state temperature of the cheese whey effluent increased with decreasing gap size (91.79, 159.03 and 319.12 kJ/l and 44.5, 53.4 and 62.8 °C for 18, 13 and 6 mm gap sizes, respectively). A strong correlation between the amount of heat gain per unit volume and the amount of fouling material accumulated on the quartz surface was realized. The amount of accumulated fouling material increased with decreasing gap size (14.42, 15.31 and 25.26 g on wet basis for 18, 13 and 6 mm gap sizes, respectively). A new design in which the direct contact between the lamp and the flowing cheese whey is avoided and lamp cooling is introduced should be investigated.     

Border and ecotone detection by vegetation composition along forest‐savanna transects in Ivory Coast

Abstract. Question: How do properties of different vegetation components vary along ecotones of semi‐deciduous forest islands, and can the depth of edge influence (DEI) of the components be detected using a novel combination of analyses? Location: Comoé National Park (CNP), NE Ivory Coast. Methods: Along eight transects at semi‐deciduous forest islands tree individuals > 20 cm DBH were mapped. At one transect, tree and shrub individuals down to 1 cm DBH were measured and cover of species was estimated. Split moving window dissimilarity analysis (SMWDA) and moving window regression analysis (MWRA) were combined to detect statistical significance of borders in multivariate vegetation data along continuous transects, to determine the width of associated ecotones, and, thus, the DEI towards the forest interior. Results: For trees > 20 cm DBH, a distinct boundary formation was detected, dominated by the semi‐fire resistant tree species Anogeissus leiocarpus. The median of DEI towards the forest interior was 55 m. Ecotone detection with all species present revealed an interlocked sequence of ecotones for grasses, herbs, woody climbers, shrubs and trees, with each of these ecotones being narrower than the overall ecotone. DEI ranged from 10 m for grasses up to 120 m for trees and shrubs. Conclusions: The coherent set of analyses applied proved to be an objective method for detecting borders and the width of associated ecotones. The patterns found may be explained by successional processes at the forest‐savanna border. The DEI measured for the forest islands in the nearly undisturbed semi‐natural system of the CNP is of relevance to concepts of core‐area analysis and the protection of forest interior species in semi‐deciduous forests in tropical West Africa.     

甜椒细胞质小分子量热激蛋白基因(CaHSP18)的cDNA克隆与表达

用RT-PCR和RACE-PCR技术,从热激处理的甜椒叶片总RNA中扩增出了细胞质小分子量热激蛋白(sHSP)全长779 bp的cDNA基因序列,包含一个480 bp开放阅读框,编码159个氨基酸.Southern杂交结果表明在甜椒基因组中有该基因的小的多基因家族.Northern结果显示该基因在甜椒根、茎、叶中的表达受热激和低温的诱导.原核表达分析表明该基因在高温以及低温条件下可以提高大肠杆菌的生存能力.     

Effects of Temperature Acclimation Pretreatment on the Ultrastructure of Mesophyll Cells in Young Grape Plants （Vitis vinifera L. cv. Jingxiu） Under Cross-Temperature Stresses

Leaves from annual young grape plants （Vitis vinifera L. cv. Jingxiu） were used as experimental materials. The ultrastructural characteristics of mesophyll cells in chilling-treated plants after heat acclimation （HA） and in heat-treated plants after cold acclimation （CA） were observed and compared using transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that slight injury appeared in the ultrastructure of mesophyll cells after either HA （38℃ for 10 h） or CA （8℃ for 2.5 d）, but the tolerance to subsequent extreme temperature stress was remarkably improved by HA or CA pretreatment. The increases in membrane permeability and malondialdehyde concentration under chilling （0℃） or heat （45℃） stress were markedly inhibited by HA or CA pretreatment. The mesophyll cells of plants not pretreated with HA were markedly damaged following chilling stress. The chloroplasts appeared irregular in shape, the arrangement of the stroma lamellae was disordered, and no starch granules were present. The cristae of the mitochondria were disrupted and became empty. The nucleus became irregular in shape and the nuclear membrane was digested. In contrast, the mesophyll cells of HA-pretreated plants maintained an intact ultrastructure under chilling stress. The mesophyll cells of control plants were also severely damaged under heat stress. The chloroplast became round in shape, the stroma lamellae became swollen, and the contents of vacuoles formed clumps. In the case of mitochondria of control plants subjected to heat stress, the outer envelope was digested and the cristae were disrupted and became many small vesicles. Compared with cellular organelles in control plants, those in CA plant cells always maintained an integrated state during whole heat stress, except for the chloroplasts, which became round in shape after 10 h heat stress. From these data, we suggest that the stability of mesophyll cells under chilling stress can be increased by HA pretreatment. Similarly, CA pretreatment can protect chloroplasts, mitochondria, and the nucleus against subsequent heat stress; thus, the thermoresistance of grape seedlings was improved. The results obtained in the present study are the first, to our knowledge, to offered cytological evidence of cross-adaptation to temperature stresses in grape plants.     

断奶仔猪源大肠杆菌LEE及HPI毒力岛的检测

应用Duplex_PCR方法,对240株断奶仔猪源大肠杆菌分离株的LEE毒力岛的eaeA基因和耶尔森菌强毒力岛核心区的irp2基因进行了检测,并对HPI毒力岛的fyuA基因及其在大肠杆菌染色体中的插入位置进行了分析,以及随机选取部分PCR产物进行了克隆和序列分析。结果表明:其中29株(12.08%)为LEE HPI ,39株(16.25%)为LEE ,11株(4.58%)为HPI ;另外还发现:不同病例来源的分离株之间,两种毒力岛的携带率不同;在断奶仔猪腹泻源分离株中,29株(20.71%)为LEE HPI ,22株(15.71%)为LEE ,9株(6.43%)为HPI ;断奶仔猪水肿病源分离株中,仅5株(6.58%)为LEE ,2株(2.63%)为HPI ,未发现LEE HPI 菌株;断奶仔猪水肿病并发腹泻源分离株中,仅12株(50%)为LEE ,未发现HPI 及LEE HPI 菌株。本实验克隆的eaeA(425bp)与已发表序列完全一致,irp2(280bp)f、yuA(948bp)、asn_tRNA_intB(1391bp)均与已发表的序列高度同源,同源性分别在98.2%、98.3%、95.8%以上;40株LEE HPI 或HPI 分离株中,29株(72.5%)为fyuA ,且其HPI毒力岛位于大肠杆菌染色体asn_tRNA位点。     

Effects of weak laser radiation (632.8 nm) on isolated mouse immune cells

The dose dependence of in vitro effects of low-intensity radiation of a He-Ne laser (632.8 nm, 0.2 mW/cm²) on the functional activity of peritoneal macrophages and lymphocytes of mouse spleen was studied. The exposure of isolated cells was varied from 5 to 180 s. If the exposure did not exceed 60 s, stimulation of secretory activity was observed: increased production of interleukin 2, interferon γ, and interleukin 6 in lymphocytes; increased production of tumor necrosis factor α, nitric oxide, and interleukin 6 in macrophages; and enhanced activity of natural killer cells. A longer exposure (up to 180 s) either had no effect on the synthesis of certain cytokines (interleukin 2 in lymphocytes and interleukin 6 in macrophages) or inhibited it, which was expressed in decreased production of interleukin 6 and interferon γ in lymphocytes and nitric oxide in macrophages, as well as in suppression of the activity of natural killer cells. Conversely, the production of interleukin 3 decreased after a short-term exposure but increased after 180-s irradiation. The high sensitivity of cells to extremely weak laser light also manifested itself as a considerable increase in expression of the inducible heat shock protein 70; this effect was observed at all doses studied, including the 5-s exposure. In contrast, expression of the heat shock protein 90 slightly decreased after irradiation of cells with laser light.     

Temporal and Spatial Distribution Patterns of Larval Trichoptera in Madeiran Streams

Temporal and spatial distribution patterns of lotic larval trichopteran assemblages in relation to environmental variables were investigated in Madeiran streams using multivariate analyses. TWINSPAN classification detected distinct faunal assemblages related to spatial factors between non-polluted high altitude sites and lower lying enriched sites where tolerant taxa were predominant but showed strong seasonal shifts in species composition and abundance. The 15 TWINSPAN end groups were grouped into five arbitrary clusters based upon the seasonal and spatial changes in the trichopteran assemblages detected by the analysis. Significant differences between environmental variables (distance from source, altitude, temperature, conductivity, alkalinity and nitrate) and the trichopteran assemblages (using trichopteran based metrics) of these clusters were confirmed by the Kruskal-Wallis test (H) and Dunn’s test. Chemical classification of samples within the clusters revealed a strong association between trichopteran assemblages and water quality. Canonical Correspondence Analysis and Monte Carlo global permutation tests also identified significant associations between the larval assemblages and physicochemical variables such as temperature and conductivity along a strong physical gradient (altitude, slope) and nitrate along a weaker seasonal gradient. Analysis of functional feeding group distribution patterns clearly showed that mid to high altitude indigenous woodland sites were trophically diverse whilst the lower reaches of the islands streams are trophically impoverished with strong seasonal shifts between two feeding groups of enrichment tolerant taxa. Trichopteran shredders are exclusive to indigenous woodland sites, indicating a limited distribution associated with land use, allochthonous input and habitat destruction. The results indicate that several ‘environmental filters’ operate at different levels upon the islands trichopteran fauna, producing temporally and spatially distinct ‘subsets’ of species best able to exploit conditions and resources at a given site or time, confounding the direct comparison of these insular systems with the findings of the River Continuum Concept, traditionally associated with unaffected continental lotic systems.