Molecular genetics of cell death in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

In C. elegans, cell death can be readily studied at the cellular, genetic, and molecular levels. Two types of death have been characterized in this nematode: (1) programmed cell death, which occurs as a normal component in development; and (2) pathological cell death which occurs aberrantly as a consequence of mutation. Analysis of mutations that disrupt programmed cell death in various ways has defined a genetic pathway for programmed cell death which includes genes that perform such functions as the determination of which cells die, the execution of cell death, the engulfment of cell corpses, and the digestion of DNA from dead cells. Molecular analysis is providing insightinto the nature of the molecules that function in these aspects of programmed cell death. Characterization of some genes that mutate to induce abnormal cell death has defined a novel gene family called degenerins that encode putative membrane proteins. Dominant alleles of at least two degenerin genes, mec-4 and deg-1, can cause cellular swelling and late onset neurodegeneration of specific groups of cells. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Lethal bithorax complex mutations of Drosophila melanogaster show no germ line maternal effects

Three Ultrabithorax (Ubx) alleles and three different deficiencies of the bithorax complex (BX-C) of Drosophila melanogaster have been tested for maternal effects in the germ line. The dominant female sterile technique was used. The Ubx alleles and a deletion of the abdominal region of the BX-C are homozygous viable in germ line clones and show no maternal effects. Two deletions which lack the proximal portion of the BX-C are lethal in the female germ line indicating either that these deficiencies lack genes apart from the BX-C that are necessary for fertility or that there are BX-C genes that are essential for normal maternal germ line function. The significance of the bias in the isolation of only zygotic mutations at the BX-C are discussed with respect to these results.     

Primers for the amplification of sequence‐characterized loci in Cryphonectria cubensis populations

We describe the development of DNA markers for the fungal pathogen of Eucalyptus, Cryphonectria cubensis. These markers originated from cloned intershort sequence repeat polymerase chain reactions, which enrich for medium to highly repetitive DNA sequences. In total, 10 markers were isolated, eight of which were polymorphic, and these can subsequently be applied to study populations of C. cubensis.     

Vertical Distribution of Bacterivorous Nematodes under Different Land Uses

The vertical distribution of dominant genera of bacterivorous nematodes to 150-cm depth in an aquic brown soil was compared after 14 years of four contrasting land uses, i.e., cropland-rice (CR), cropland-maize (CM), abandoned cropland (AC), and woodland (WL). The study was conducted at the Shenyang Experimental Station of Ecology, a Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) site in Northeast China. Data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance with land use and depth as independent variables. More than 70% of Chiloplacus, Eucephalobus, and Monhystera spp. were present in the uppermost soil layer (0 to 5 cm) in the CR treatment. In contrast, Chiloplacus and Prismatolaimus spp. were distributed down to 100-cm depth in the AC and CM treatments, respectively. Differences in numbers of Acrobeles, Acrobeloides, Cephalobus, Chiloplacus, Eucephalobus, Monhystera, Plectus, and Prismatolaimus were found among land uses and at various depths. Soil C and N were correlated positively with numbers of Monhystera and Plectus in the CR treatment, Acrobeloides in the CM treatment, and Acrobeles and Acrobeloides in the AC treatment. Soil pH was correlated negatively with Monhystera, Plectus (CR), and Acrobeloides (CM, AC). The relationship of pH with Acrobeles depended on land use: positive in the WL treatment and negative in the AC treatment. Our results suggested that Cephalobus and Prismatolaimus in the CR treatment, and Chiloplacus and Prismatolaimus in the WL treatment, were insensitive to soil properties measured. Differences in vertical distribution should be considered when studying dominant bacterivorous nematode genera among land uses.     

黄土高原马栏林区优势种幼苗与其种群径级结构的演替研究

对黄土高原马栏林区几种典型群落类型中优势种辽东栎(Quercus liaotungensis)、油松(Pinus tabulaefor-mis)、白桦(Betula platyphylla)和山杨(Populus davidiana)的幼苗和种群径级结构进行了研究。结果表明:(1)辽东栎幼苗在马栏林区7种典型群落类型中均有分布,且数量充足,实生苗更新良好,辽东栎在不同的群落类型中表现出不同的种群径级结构。在油松 辽东栎混交林和辽东栎林中趋于稳定型;在油松林、油松 白桦混交林、白桦林、山杨林和白桦 山杨混交林中则为增长型;(2)油松幼苗在油松 白桦混交林、油松林和油松 辽东栎混交林中分布较多,但均少于辽东栎幼苗。在这些群落类型中油松种群的径级结构属于稳定型;(3)白桦和山杨幼苗数量较少,无正常更新能力,种群径级结构趋于衰退,以白桦和山杨为主的群落类型将逐渐被以油松和辽东栎为主的群落类型所取代;(4)马栏林区优势种幼苗分布的广度和丰度受到光照、水和灌草层等非生物和生物因素及其相互作用的影响。表明在黄土高原马栏林区以天然恢复为主的辽东栎种群,将在该地植被的自然恢复过程中产生重要作用;油松种群不仅过去而且将来也同样会在该地区的植被恢复中发挥重要作用。     

冰雪灾害对江西九连山常绿阔叶林的影响

以江西九连山国家自然保护区常绿阔叶林为对象,研究林分不同层次优势种受灾程度,分析物种海拔、坡度对受灾程度的影响。结果表明:乔木上层和中层树木以断稍为主,乔木下层树木以断稍和腰折为主,小树和幼树以压弯为主。在平均受损指数MDI(Mean Damage Index)方面,乔木上层米槠MDI值最高,拟赤杨最低; 乔木中层鸭公树MDI值最高,浙江新木姜子最低; 乔木下层米槠MDI值最高,浙江新木姜子最低; 小树米槠MDI值最高,细枝柃最低; 幼树二列叶柃MDI值最高,狗骨柴最低。海拔对不同林分层次树木的部分受损指标有显著影响(P<0.05); 整体上,不同林分层次树木的受损指标在700～760 m海拔生境高于640～700 m海拔生境。不同坡度生境下树木的受损指标均无显著差异(P>0.05)。     

椒江口海域春秋季虾类资源分布与环境的关系

利用2010年春季(4月)和秋季(10月)椒江口海域渔业资源调查资料,分析了椒江口虾类资源密度的分布,优势种和水团、水深等环境因子对虾类数量和分布的影响.结果表明:椒江口海域春季和秋季虾类平均重量密度分别为7.89和86.20 kg·km-2,尾数密度均值分别为11.04×103和34.41×103 ind·km-2;虾类密度平面分布特征,在春季,调查海域虾类密度西部高于东部,高密度区出现在椒江河口沿岸区域,尤其是受椒江径流影响明显的北部沿海海域;在秋季,东部明显高于西部,尤其是大陈岛东南部受台湾暖流和浙江上升流影响的海域.逐步回归分析表明:椒江口表层温度与虾类重量密度和尾数密度均呈显著的相关关系(Pw =0.004,PN=0.01),但水深与资源密度相关关系不显著;春季,中国毛虾(Acetes chinensis)对虾类尾数密度贡献率最大,对重量密度贡献率也较大,为春季最重要的优势种;秋季,中华管鞭虾(Solenocera crassicornis)对尾数和重量密度贡献率均最大,为秋季最重要的优势种.     

丰水期长江感潮河口段网采浮游植物的分布与长期变化

于2009年6、8月对长江口门至江阴的河口段浮游植物进行了拖网采集,共检出浮游植物6门99属239种。其中:硅藻123种,甲藻19种,绿藻和蓝藻各42种,裸藻9种,黄藻4种。河口段网采浮游植物丰度以蓝藻占绝对优势,硅藻次之,两者合计在群落中的比例超过了95%。优势种也主要以蓝藻(水华鱼腥藻Anabaena flos-aquae、柔软腔球藻Coelosphaerium kuetzingiarum、微囊藻Microcystis spp.、颤藻Oscillatoria spp.和席藻Phorimidium spp.)构成,硅藻仅有2种(骨条藻Skeletonema spp.和颗粒直链藻Aulacoseira granulata)。口门内盐度均<0.5,群落基本以淡水类群为主,口门附近则以半咸水类群为主,海水类群主要位于口门外(盐度>13)。随着水温和营养盐水平的升高,8月浮游植物平均丰度(347.75×10⁴ 个/m³)明显高于6月(204.19×10⁴ 个/m³)。根据多维尺度和相似性分析,丰水期长江河口段浮游植物群落组成与分布存在显著(P<0.01)的时空差异。对比20世纪80年代以来的历史资料发现,长江口门内网采浮游植物丰度显著升高,且优势种也从硅藻(骨条藻、直链藻和圆筛藻)转变为蓝藻(颤藻、鱼腥藻和微囊藻)。     

QT interval measurement using RMED curve; a novel approach based on wavelet techniques

Hypothesis/objective: Prolonged QT interval is an index of propensity for dangerous ventricular tachyarrhythmias. The aim of this article is to establish an automatic algorithm for QT interval measurement.

Method: The proposed method is based on the continuous wavelet transform. In this method, the concepts of the rescaled wavelet coefficients and dominant scales of the electrocardiogram (ECG) components are used to perform detection of ECG characteristic points. A new concept of rescaled maximum energy density is introduced so as to perform the estimation of the QT interval.

Results and conclusion: We have applied the algorithm to the PTB database of the Physiobank?Physionet in lead II. Then, the results were evaluated using pertinent reference QT. The criterion used for evaluation of the method's performance is the root mean square (RMS) error. The method approached the RMS error of 27.89 ms for 549 subjects. The proposed method is fast, simple and is applicable to a wide range of ECG cardio cycle morphologies.