匙叶紫菀,中国菊科一未详知种的补充描述

报道中国菊科紫菀属一未详知种:匙叶紫菀(Aster spathulifolius Maxim.),发现于我国东海的舟山群岛,位于浙江嵊泗县的两个岛上,生于海滨岩石上,并提供特征描述和图片。该种与普陀狗娃花[Aster arenarius (Kitam.) Nemoto]比较近缘,提供了这2种的详细形态区别特征。     

姜黄素通过抑制凋亡信号调节激酶1减弱PM2.5短期暴露致大鼠子宫损伤

细颗粒物(PM2.5)是空气动力学直径 ≤ 2.5 μm的颗粒物,能诱发多种疾病。已有大量的流行病学调查证实,PM2.5能够损伤生殖系统,但其致病机制不明确,相关的研究也非常有限。为研究PM2.5短期暴露对大鼠子宫的损伤,以及姜黄素（curcumin, CRC）对其保护作用,本研究将50只雌性SD大鼠随机分为生理盐水对照组、PM2.5暴露组、低剂量姜黄素组（PM2.5+CRC-L）、高剂量姜黄素组（PM2.5+CRC-H）和维生素E干预组（PM2.5+VE）,连续暴露30 d。经PM2.5短期暴露,暴露组雌鼠子宫内膜上皮细胞萎缩,组织结构模糊,内膜腺体细胞和基质细胞排列混乱。给予姜黄素和VE后,子宫内膜损伤明显降低。TUNEL检测凋亡结果显示,PM2.5暴露组子宫组织细胞凋亡率 (48.81±8.27)%明显高于对照组凋亡率（P<0.05）。与PM2.5暴露组相比,姜黄素能降低PM2.5诱发的子宫细胞凋亡,且PM2.5+CRC-H组细胞凋亡率(20.79±3.63)%明显低于暴露组（P<0.05）。与对照组相比,PM2.5暴露组子宫组织活性氧（ROS）含量明显升高（P<0.05）,总抗氧化能力（T-AOC）含量明显降低（P<0.05）;给予姜黄素和VE,能不同程度地缓解子宫氧化应激反应。Western印迹结果显示,与PM2.5暴露组相比,姜黄素和VE能够明显抑制因PM2.5暴露诱导的凋亡信号调节激酶1(ASK1)、c-Jun氨基末端激酶(JNK)、p38 蛋白激酶(p38)磷酸化,以及胱天蛋白酶-3（caspase-3）的活化 (P<0.05)。由此可见,姜黄素能够明显减轻PM2.5短期暴露诱发的子宫损伤,这可能与其抑制ASK1介导的JNK-p38-caspase-3细胞凋亡信号通路有关。     

Human‐horse sensory engagement through horse archery

The Mongol horse stems from ancient stock, similar to the first horses ridden on the Central Asian grassland steppe. Mongol horses subsequently migrated with their human counterparts throughout Eurasia, as far to the east as Japan. During archery festivals in Japan, horses gallop along a narrow runway within a temple complex in the heavily populated city of Kyoto. In Mongolia, with the recent re‐emergence of the ancient practice, horse and rider still gallop across the expansive grassland steppe. The euphoria one feels in riding fast on horseback with the wind against one's face can be symbolised by the concept of khii mor’ in Mongolia, which is connected with the vitality between human and horse in the practice of horse archery. Through sensory ethnography, in combination with multi‐species ethnography, this article explores embodiment between horse and rider in two quite different socio‐ecological contexts.     

Systematic study of the genus Compsilura Bouché in Southeast and East Asia with morphological and molecular data (Diptera,Tachinidae)

Compsilura concinnata (Meigen) is one of the most famous, most polyphagous and most widely distributed tachinid flies (Diptera, Tachinidae) in the world. This species is well known as a biocontrol agent of some injurious pests of cultural and wild plants and has been introduced from Europe to the United States to control mainly the gypsy moth. Recently we found three new species very closely resembling C. concinnata from Southeast and East Asia: C. lobata sp. nov. (Japan and Thailand), C. malayana sp. nov. (Malaysia) and C. pauciseta sp. nov. (Japan and Taiwan). Additionally, C. samoaensis Malloch is treated as a junior synonym of C. concinnata based on the examination of the type specimen. The genetic differences in the mitochondrial COI gene data are examined to assess the accuracy of species delimitation of Compsilura. The male postabdominal characters of these species are illustrated. The piercing female postabdomen of C. concinnata is illustrated and compared to those of other members belonging to the Blondelia group including Blondelia Robineau-Desvoidy, Celatoria Coquillett, Eucelatoria Townsend and Vibrissina Rondani.     

New snakeflies of the genus Inocellia Schneider, 1843 (Raphidioptera: Inocelliidae) from the Hengduan Mountains,China

Three species of the snakefly genus Inocellia Schneider, 1843 (Raphidioptera: Inocelliidae) are reported from the Hengduan Mountains in southwestern China. Among them, Inocellia yulongensis sp. nov. is described as new to science. Inocellia cheni Liu, H. Aspöck, Yang & U. Aspöck, 2010 is first recorded from Sichuan Province based on a newly collected male from a locality over 4200 m a.s.l. Inocellia obtusangularis Liu, H. Aspöck, Yang & U. Aspöck, 2010 is first recorded from Yunnan Province. The rich species diversity of snakeflies and its biogeographic significance from the Hengduan Mountains are discussed.     

A new whitefly of quarantine importance infesting a native and invasive plant,Rubus ellipticus Sm. (Rosaceae) in the Western Himalaya,India

Puparia of Pealius kufriensis Dubey sp. nov. found infesting a native and highly invasive plant, Rubus ellipticus Sm. (Rosaceae) are described. The host shrub was found highly infested with the new whitefly on the underside of leaves. Puparial characteristics of the genus Pealius Quaintance and Baker shared with Aleyrodes Latreille and Bemisia Quaintance and Baker are discussed.     

Green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for antimicrobial and vegetative growth applications: A novel approach for advancing efficient high quality health care to human wellbeing

The present work aims to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles via green approaches using leaf extract of Parthenium hysterophorus. UV–vis and FT-IR tests confirmed the existence of biomolecules, active materials, and metal oxides. The X-ray diffraction structural study exposes the ZnO nanoparticles formation with hexagonal phase structures. SEM and TEM analysis reveal surface morphologies of ZnO nanoparticles and most of them are spherical with a size range of 10 nm. ZnO nanoparticles were revealed strong antimicrobial activity against both bacterial and fungal strains. The germination of seeds and vegetative growth of Sesamum indicum has been greatly improved.     

Differential responses to fertilization and competition among invasive,noninvasive alien,and native Bidens species

Comparative studies of invasive, noninvasive alien, and native congenic plant species can identify plant traits that drive invasiveness. In particular, functional traits associated with rapid growth rate and high fecundity likely facilitate invasive success. As such traits often exhibit high phenotypic plasticity, characterizing plastic responses to anthropogenic environmental changes such as eutrophication and disturbance is important for predicting the invasive success of alien plant species in the future. Here, we compared trait expression and phenotypic plasticity at the species level among invasive, noninvasive alien, and native Bidens species. Plants were grown under nutrient addition and competition treatments, and their functional, morphological, and seed traits were examined. Invasive B. frondosa exhibited higher phenotypic plasticity in most measured traits than did the alien noninvasive B. pilosa or native B. bipinnata. However, differential plastic responses to environmental treatments rarely altered the rank of trait values among the three Bidens species, except for the number of inflorescences. The achene size of B. frondosa was larger, but its pappus length was shorter than that of B. pilosa. Two species demonstrated opposite plastic responses of pappus length to fertilization. These results suggest that the plasticity of functional traits does not significantly contribute to the invasive success of B. frondosa. The dispersal efficiency of B. frondosa is expected to be lower than that of B. pilosa, suggesting that long‐distance dispersal is likely not a critical factor in determining invasive success.     

Facultative mutualisms: A double‐edged sword for foundation species in the face of anthropogenic global change

Ecosystems worldwide depend on habitat‐forming foundation species that often facilitate themselves with increasing density and patch size, while also engaging in facultative mutualisms. Anthropogenic global change (e.g., climate change, eutrophication, overharvest, land‐use change), however, is causing rapid declines of foundation species‐structured ecosystems, often typified by sudden collapse. Although disruption of obligate mutualisms involving foundation species is known to precipitate collapse (e.g., coral bleaching), how facultative mutualisms (i.e., context‐dependent, nonbinding reciprocal interactions) affect ecosystem resilience is uncertain. Here, we synthesize recent advancements and combine these with model analyses supported by real‐world examples, to propose that facultative mutualisms may pose a double‐edged sword for foundation species. We suggest that by amplifying self‐facilitative feedbacks by foundation species, facultative mutualisms can increase foundation species’ resistance to stress from anthropogenic impact. Simultaneously, however, mutualism dependency can generate or exacerbate bistability, implying a potential for sudden collapse when the mutualism's buffering capacity is exceeded, while recovery requires conditions to improve beyond the initial collapse point (hysteresis). Thus, our work emphasizes the importance of acknowledging facultative mutualisms for conservation and restoration of foundation species‐structured ecosystems, but highlights the potential risk of relying on mutualisms in the face of global change. We argue that significant caveats remain regarding the determination of these feedbacks, and suggest empirical manipulation across stress gradients as a way forward to identify related nonlinear responses.     

Geographical pattern of genetic diversity in Capsella bursa‐pastoris (Brassicaceae)—A global perspective

We analyzed the global genetic variation pattern of Capsella bursa‐pastoris (Brassicaceae) as expressed in allozymic (within‐locus) diversity and isozymic (between‐locus) diversity. Results are based on a global sampling of more than 20,000 C. bursa‐pastoris individuals randomly taken from 1,469 natural provenances in the native and introduced range, covering a broad spectrum of the species’ geographic distribution. We evaluated data for population genetic parameters and F‐statistics, and Mantel tests and AMOVA were performed. Geographical distribution patterns of alleles and multilocus genotypes are shown in maps and tables. Genetic diversity of introduced populations is only moderately reduced in comparison with native populations. Global population structure was analyzed with structure, and the obtained cluster affiliation was tested independently with classification approaches and macroclimatic data using species distribution modeling. Analyses revealed two main clusters: one distributed predominantly in warm arid to semiarid climate regions and the other predominantly in more temperate humid to semihumid climate regions. We observed admixture between the two lineages predominantly in regions with intermediate humidity in both the native and non‐native ranges. The genetically derived clusters are strongly supported in macroclimatic data space. The worldwide distribution patterns of genetic variation in the range of C. bursa‐pastoris can be explained by intensive intra‐ and intercontinental migration, but environmental filtering due to climate preadaption seems also involved. Multiple independent introductions of genotypes from different source regions are obvious. “Endemic” genotypes might be the outcome of admixture or of de novo mutation. We conclude that today's successfully established Capsella genotypes were preadapted and found matching niche conditions in the colonized range parts.