Ephelides are More Related to Pigmentary Constitutional Host Factors than Solar Lentigines

Ephelides and solar lentigines are benign pigmented spots, which are currently associated with an increased risk of skin cancer. These two pigmented spots are known to be discriminated by their clinical, histological, and electron microscopic characteristics, even though occasional misclassification can occur because of their similarity. It has also been questioned whether these spots are not one and the same. In this study, we have attempted to differentiate between these two pigmented spots with the use of a standardized protocol for clinical examinations on 272 healthy volunteers, paying particular consideration to their pigmentary and constitutional host factors. We found that solar lentigines 1) are more prevalent than ephelides, 2) increase in prevalence and number with higher age, and 3) are most prevalent on the trunk and occur more frequently in males than in females. A trend is also observed whereby ephelides 1) loose their prevalence with age, 2) become equally distributed on the face, arms, and trunk, and 3) occur more frequently in females. An intimate association of ephelides, but not solar lentigines, has been found with hair color and skin type. All of these findings are in agreement with most of those reported in the literature, supporting the view that ephelides and solar lentigines are different types of pigmented lesions.     

孔雀河下游断流河道的环境特征及物种间关系

基于孔雀河下游断流河道的环境因子和植被样地数据,采用聚类与CCA排序法,分析了生境的退化特征以及物种间的相互关系,结果表明:1)断流河道退化生境分为绿洲-荒漠过渡类型、轻度荒漠化类型和盐土荒漠化类型。绿洲-荒漠过渡类型地下水位低、盐分含量相对较低,植被盖度相对较高,土壤维持着原砂质壤土,为潜在退化型;轻度荒漠化类型地下水位、土壤质地与含盐量与前者基本相同,土壤未明显退化,但植被盖度低于10%,植物种类与个体数目都较低,属于轻度退化型;盐土荒漠化类型地下水位高、盐分含量高,土壤机械组成中砂粒比重较大、无建群种幸存,属于重度退化型。2)绿洲-荒漠过渡类型总体联结性为显著正联结,正负联结比小于1,生态系统表现为建群种维系物种关系的不稳定状态;轻度荒漠化类型总体联结性为不显著负联结,正负联结比小于1,表现出生态系统进入退化演替的阶段;盐土荒漠化类型总体联结性为显著正联结,正负联结比大于1,表现出重度退化群落的种间平衡状态,物种间以达到稳定共存,其中,真盐生植物对这种平衡的维持起着重要的作用。3)CCA排序表明,绿洲-荒漠过渡类型形成以胡杨为中心的种间正联结,幸存于盐分适中、水分养分相对较高的生境;轻度荒漠化类型,形成以多枝柽柳与刚毛柽柳相互依存的不显著负联结,幸存于土壤养分、水分相对较低的生境;盐土荒漠化类型形成以盐爪爪、盐节木、盐穗木等真盐生植物维系的显著正联结,幸存于土壤贫瘠、地下水位浅、盐分含量高、沙化严重的生境。     

Biomass allocation and nutrient use in fast-growing woody and herbaceous perennials used for phytoremediation

This study assessed the suitability of two deciduous woody perennials (Salix spp. and Populus spp.) and two summer green herbaceous perennials (Phragmites australis and Urtica dioica) for purification of nutrient enriched wastewater. The main hypothesis tested was that species with a particular trait combination of high relative growth rate (RGR), low nutrient productivity (A) and high mean residence time (MRT) of nutrients would be most effective in accumulating nutrients. The nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency at the whole plant level was analysed. Four treatments comprising two possible phytoremediation substrates (municipal wastewater and landfill leachate) and two control plant nutrition situations (balanced nutrient solution and pure water) were applied in four replications to the four plant species. Generally, all four species studied showed a high RGR and a low P productivity in the balanced nutrient solution treatment, while the opposite (low RGR and high P productivity) was seen in the phytoremediation substrate and pure water treatments. The general conclusion is that if P is present in marginal proportions in the wastewater, a vegetation filter with Phragmites would have an advantage since biomass and nutrient accumulation in Phragmites does not decrease as much during phytoremediation as that in deciduous woody perennials.     

京津冀地区城市化发展时空差异特征

随着京津冀一体化协同发展的提出,如何协调城市间城市化和产业发展的差异成为目前关注的焦点。因历史原因和政策影响,尤其在城市化发展方面地区之间存在较大差异,定量识别该区城市发展的时空差异性对于制定合理的区域协同发展政策具有重要的指导意义。基于1984—2012年社会经济统计数据,通过引入偏离度指数和变异系数,从人口、土地、社会、经济四方面研究了不同时期京津冀地区城市化发展时空差异特征。研究表明:(1)京津冀地区城市化4个方面的发展均呈整体上升趋势,尤其表现在经济和社会发展方面。整体增长幅度为:经济社会土地人口。(2)从发展速度看,京津冀地区人口与土地增速最快时期发生在2000—2004年;而社会与经济增速最快时期发生在1992—1996年;这些特征充分反映了我国阶段性政策的影响。(3)从城市化发展的驱动因子分析,京津冀地区人口与土地增长速度差异较小,发展趋势较为一致,呈现显著的正相关关系;经济、社会增长速度差异较小,发展趋势较为一致,表现出高度的正相关性;而人口与社会、人口与经济、土地与社会、土地与经济之间的相关性不显著。(4)京津冀地区城市化发展区域差异较大,不同时段各城市发展存在明显差异;在城市化进程中区域间最大差异性表现在土地的扩张,其次是人口增长,而经济和社会增长差异性相对较小。(5)人口、土地、社会、经济四项城市化驱动因子与城市生态因子的耦合协调度均不断提高。     

两株副溶血弧菌烈性噬菌体的分离鉴定

研究旨在筛选烈性噬菌体, 为副溶血弧菌(Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vp)病害防控增加新的选择。以副溶血弧菌Vp13为宿主菌, 通过二层琼脂平板法筛选, 分离到了2株烈性噬菌体SX-2和SX-F。对其形态结构进行了透射电镜观察, 利用DNase I、 RNase A、Mung Bean Nuclease和Hind Ш酶进行噬菌体核酸类型鉴定, 并对噬菌体的裂解谱、最佳感染复数、一步生长曲线进行了测定。透射电镜观察结果显示: SX-2核衣壳头部长约110 nm, 宽约50 nm, 尾部长约150 nm, 宽约10 nm, 为典型的复合体制; SX-F核衣壳呈正六边形, 长约为56.86 nm,宽约50.74 nm, 未观察到尾部, 推测为正二十面体对称; 核酸测定结果显示两者均为线性双链DNA。依据国际病毒分类委员会第九次报告, SX-2符合肌尾噬菌体科特征, SX-F符合盖噬菌体科特征。噬菌体SX-2和SX-F对85株弧菌裂解结果显示: 噬菌体SX-2能够裂解23株副溶血弧菌和1株溶藻弧菌(Vibrio alginolyticus), 噬菌体SX-F能够裂解19株副溶血弧菌和1株溶藻弧菌。SX-2和SX-F的最佳感染复数均为0.0001。一步生长曲线结果显示: SX-F的潜伏期约10min, 裂解期约70min, 裂解量为116.2; 噬菌体SX-2的潜伏期小于10min, 裂解期大约70min, 裂解量为209.3。两株噬菌体生物学特性表明SX-2与SX-F均为烈性噬菌体, 这为进一步探讨噬菌体防治技术奠定了基础。     

Evidence for increases in vegetation species richness across UK Environmental Change Network sites linked to changes in air pollution and weather patterns

We analysed trends in vegetation monitored at regular intervals over the past two decades (1993–2012) at the twelve terrestrial Environmental Change Network (ECN) sites. We sought to determine the extent to which flora had changed and link any such changes to potential environmental drivers. We observed significant increases in species richness, both at a whole network level, and when data were analysed within Broad Habitat groupings representing the open uplands, open lowlands and woodlands. We also found comparable increases in an indicator of vegetation response to soil pH, Ellenberg R. Species characteristic of less acid soils tended to show more consistent increases in frequency across sites relative to species with a known tolerance for strongly acidic soils. These changes are, therefore, broadly consistent with a response to increases in soil solution pH observed for the majority of ECN sites that, in turn, are likely to be driven by large reductions in acid deposition in recent decades. Increases in species richness in certain habitat groupings could also be linked to increased soil moisture availability in drier lowland sites that are likely to have been influenced by a trend towards wetter summers in recent years, and possibly also to a reduction in soil nitrogen availability in some upland locations. Changes in site management are also likely to have influenced trends at certain sites, particularly with respect to agricultural practices. Our results are therefore indicative of widescale responses to major regional-scale changes in air pollution and recent weather patterns, modified by local management effects. The relative consistency of management of ECN sites over time is atypical of much of the wider countryside and it is therefore not appropriate to scale up these observations to infer national scale trends. Nevertheless the results provide an important insight into processes that may be operating nationally. It will now be necessary to test for the ubiquity of these changes using appropriate broader spatial scale survey data.