The Art Collector

Abstract

The initiating point of this paper was an article in AEPR by Peter J. Smith in March/April 2003. At the end of the article, Peter J. Smith provides a short answer.     

巫山高山移民迁出区不同弃耕年限对植物物种多样性的影响

以典型高山移民迁出区耕地(A1)、弃耕1a(A2)、弃耕5a(A3)、弃耕8a(A4)、弃耕5a生长大量白花银背藤(R1)为研究对象,采用空间序列代替时间序列的方法,比较不同弃耕年限植物重要值(P)、Margalef丰富度指数(R)、Shannon多样性指数(H′)、Pielou均匀度指数(J_w)、Simpson优势度指数(D)、Jaccard相似性指数(C_j)、Sorenson相似性指数(C_s)及多样性阈值(D_v),旨在探究不同退耕年限对植物物种多样性和群落结构的影响。结果显示,随弃耕年限增加,群落结构从草本+灌木转变为草本+灌木+乔木,群落优势物种由喜阳的一年生或多年生草本转变为耐阴的多年生草本;草本层和灌木层植物物种多样性随着演替年限的延长而增长,在演替的中后期达到最大值;A2与A3间群落的相似性指数最大;对不同弃耕年限样地植被群落多样性进行评定,都未达到"较好Ⅲ"级别,还需长期的恢复。恢复过程中注意对白花银背藤的监测,防止植物入侵。     

Higher climatic sensitivity of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) subjected to tourist pressure on a hiking trail in the Brodnica Lakeland,NE Poland

Climate condtions constitute some of the main factors affecting variation in annual tree-ring growth. However other exogenous processes including geomorphic activity can affect substantially the rate of tree growth. Currently little is known on how human activity such as trampling affects tree growth along hiking trails.We analyzed annual growth variation in 42 Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris L.) subjected to what is known as tourist pressure on a heavily used hiking trail in the Brodnica Lakeland located in Northeastern Poland and compared them with 45 pin. trees growing under natural conditions. Specifically, we compared the climate sensitivity of pine trees growing under trampling pressure with a pine reference site using climate variables such as mean, minimum and maximum monthly air temperature and monthly precipitation. Positive and negative pointer years for two sites were designated using the Becker algorithm and compared.Results revealed that Scots pine annual growth at both sites was highly correlated with winter (January, February) and spring (March) air temperatures and February precipitation. However, both the response function analysis and pointer year analysis revealed higher climatic sensitivity of trees subjected to trampling. It was revealed that thermal and pluvial conditions play an important role for Scots pine growth at the trampling site (PRES), especially in June and July when cambium is probably most active. At the same time, these are the months during which tourist activity is the most intense. Tree growth on a hiking trail was positively correlated with higher precipitation and lower maximum air temperature in June and July. This may indicate that pine trees subjected to trampling are threatened by a potential moisture limitation that occurs within and around the studied hiking trail due to an increase in soil compaction. Additionally, the study revealed growth reduction in pine trees subjected to trampling pressure starting from the late 1970s, i.e., right at a time when a strong increase in tourist traffic was noted across the Brodnica Lakeland.The study shows that human impact associated with trampling on hiking trails significantlly affects the growth of Scots pine and should be taken into account in future dendroecological studies.     

种植年限对寿光设施大棚土壤生态环境的影响

为探讨不同种植年限对设施大棚土壤生态环境的影响,研究了不同种植年限的大棚土壤物理性状、化学性状以及微生物区系的差异变化,并对种植年限与土壤理化性状和微生物数量之间的相关性进行了统计分析。结果表明,随种植年限增加,土壤容重和pH值均明显下降,而土壤孔隙度、土壤EC值和土壤盐分含量则显著升高,有机质含量也呈增长的趋势;土壤全氮和全磷量均持续升高,土壤全钾、硝态氮和速效钾均先升高后降低;随着设施大棚种植年限的增长,细菌数量先上升后下降,放线菌数量先迅速升高后保持相对稳定,只有真菌数量呈持续增加的趋势。这说明由于大量的有机无机肥料投入,种植年限不同的设施大棚土壤均出现一定酸化现象,养分失衡,微生态平衡遭到破坏,盐分含量显著升高,存在明显的环境风险。应提倡合理科学施肥,以保证设施大棚土壤的生态环境安全。     

The relationship between consumption of tyrosine and phenylalanine as precursors of catecholamine at breakfast and the circadian typology and mental health in Japanese infants aged 2 to 5 years

Background

This study aims to examine the relationship between tyrosine and phenylalanine intake at breakfast as precursors of dopamine, and scores on the Torsvall-Åkerstedt Diurnal Type Scale and of mental health in Japanese infants aged 2 to 5 years.

Results

An integrated questionnaire was administered to parents of 1,367 infants attending one of ten nursery schools governed by Kochi City or a kindergarten affiliated with the Faculty of Education at Kochi University (775 answers for analysis: 56.7%) in May and June 2008. Questionnaires included the Torsvall-Åkerstedt Diurnal Type Scale and questions on sleep habits (onset, offset, quality, quantity, and so on), meal habits (content and regularity of timing), and mental health (depressive states). Amount of tyrosine and phenylalanine intake was calculated based on a breakfast content questionnaire and data on the components of amino acids in foods. Infants who ingested more than 800 mg of tyrosine or phenylalanine at breakfast per meal were more morning-type than those who ingested less than 800 mg (ANOVA: P= 0.005). However, this relationship disappeared in the ANCOVA analysis (with the covariance of tryptophan intake, P= 0.894). Infants who ingested more than 800 mg of the two amino acids at breakfast showed significantly higher mental health scores (lower frequency of depressive states) than those who ingested less than 800 mg (ANOVA: P = 0.004). This relationship remained significant when ANCOVA analysis was performed with the covariance of tryptophan (ANCOVA: P= 0.017).

Conclusions

These results suggest that tyrosine and phenylalanine ingested at breakfast are not related with circadian phase, but are relate with mental health in infants.     

Functional analysis and tissue-differential expression of four FAD2 genes in amphidiploid Brassica napus derived from Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea

Fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2), which resides in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), plays a crucial role in producing linoleic acid (18:2) through catalyzing the desaturation of oleic acid (18:1) by double bond formation at the delta 12 position. FAD2 catalyzes the first step needed for the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids found in the glycerolipids of cell membranes and the triacylglycerols in seeds. In this study, four FAD2 genes from amphidiploid Brassica napus genome were isolated by PCR amplification, with their enzymatic functions predicted by sequence analysis of the cDNAs. Fatty acid analysis of budding yeast transformed with each of the FAD2 genes showed that whereas BnFAD2-1, BnFAD2-2, and BnFAD2-4 are functional enzymes, and BnFAD2-3 is nonfunctional. The four FAD2 genes of B. napus originated from synthetic hybridization of its diploid progenitors Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea, each of which has two FAD2 genes identical to those of B. napus. The BnFAD2-3 gene of B. napus, a nonfunctional pseudogene mutated by multiple nucleotide deletions and insertions, was inherited from B. rapa. All BnFAD2 isozymes except BnFAD2-3 localized to the ER. Nonfunctional BnFAD2-3 localized to the nucleus and chloroplasts. Four BnFAD2 genes can be classified on the basis of their expression patterns.     

Hemocyanin gene family evolution in spiders (Araneae), with implications for phylogenetic relationships and divergence times in the infraorder Mygalomorphae

Hemocyanins are multimeric copper-containing hemolymph proteins involved in oxygen binding and transport in all major arthropod lineages. Most arachnids have seven primary subunits (encoded by paralogous genes a–g), which combine to form a 24-mer (4 × 6) quaternary structure. Within some spider lineages, however, hemocyanin evolution has been a dynamic process with extensive paralog duplication and loss. We have obtained hemocyanin gene sequences from numerous representatives of the spider infraorders Mygalomorphae and Araneomorphae in order to infer the evolution of the hemocyanin gene family and estimate spider relationships using these conserved loci. Our hemocyanin gene tree is largely consistent with the previous hypotheses of paralog relationships based on immunological studies, but reveals some discrepancies in which paralog types have been lost or duplicated in specific spider lineages. Analyses of concatenated hemocyanin sequences resolved deep nodes in the spider phylogeny and recovered a number of clades that are supported by other molecular studies, particularly for mygalomorph taxa. The concatenated data set is also used to estimate dates of higher-level spider divergences and suggests that the diversification of extant mygalomorphs preceded that of extant araneomorphs. Spiders are diverse in behavior and respiratory morphology, and our results are beneficial for comparative analyses of spider respiration. Lastly, the conserved hemocyanin sequences allow for the inference of spider relationships and ancient divergence dates.     

Tree-ring distinctness,dating potential and climatic sensitivity of laurel forest tree species in Tenerife Island

Macaronesian laurel forests are the only remnants of a subtropical palaeoecosystem dominant during the Tertiary in Europe and northern Africa. These biodiverse ecosystems are restricted to cloudy and temperate insular environments in the North Atlantic Ocean. Due to their reduced distribution area, these forests are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances and changes in climatic conditions. The assessment of laurel forest trees’ response to climate variation by dendrochronological methods is limited because it was assumed that the lack of marked seasonality would prevent the formation of distinct annual tree rings. The aims of this study were to identify the presence of annual growth rings and to assess the dendrochronological potential of the most representative tree species from laurel forests in Tenerife, Canary Islands. We sampled increment cores from 498 trees of 12 species in two well-preserved forests in Tenerife Island. We evaluated tree-ring boundary distinctness, dating potential, and sensitivity of tree-ring growth to climate and, particularly, to drought occurrence. Eight species showed clear tree-ring boundaries, but synchronic annual tree rings and robust tree-ring chronologies were only obtained for Laurus novocanariensis, Ilex perado subsp. platyphylla, Persea indica and Picconia excelsa, a third of the studied species. Tree-ring width depended on water balance and drought occurrence, showing sharp reductions in growth in the face of decreased water availability, a response that was consistent among species and sites. Inter-annual tree-ring width variation was directly dependent on rainfall input in the humid period, from previous October to current April. The four negative pointer years 1995, 1999, 2008 and 2012 corresponded to severe drought events in the study area. This study gives the first assessment of dendrochronological potential and tree-ring climate sensitivity of tree species from the Tenerife laurel forest, which opens new research avenues for dendroecological studies in Macaronesian laurel forests.     

1990年和2019年中国心血管疾病负担及危险因素研究

摘要 目的：分析1990年和2019年中国心血管发病、死亡和疾病负担情况。方法：利用2019年全球疾病负担数据库,分析总人群、不同年龄组间1990年和2019年我国心血管发病、死亡、伤残调整寿命年（DALY）、过早死亡损失寿命年(YLL)和伤残损失寿命年(YLD)。并对心血管进行危险因素归因分析。结果：2019年中国心血管发病人数为1234.1万 ,发病率为867.65/10万,较1990年分别增长了132.82%和93.75% 。2019年死亡人数458.43万 ,死亡率为322.30/10万,较1990年分别上升了89.12%和57.39%。2019年中国心血管DALY、YLD和YLL分别为9193.31万人年、1038.39万人年和8154.93万人年。较1990年分别上升了50.07%、146.82%和45.48%。2019年发病率、死亡率和DALY率最高的年龄组均为＞70年龄组,分别为4646.78/10万、3057.82/10万和52696.68/10万。中国心血管归因于代谢危险导致的死亡人数、DALY和YLL最多,分别为3272924人、67112754人年和59934426人年。结论：我国心血管的疾病负担在1990-2019年间有较大增长,应采取积极的预防措施以减轻心血管的疾病负担。