基于分形方法探讨槭属（Acer Linn.）植物叶片的形态多样性及其系统学意义

采用数量性状测量法分析了槭属(Acer Linn.)8种1变种1变型的叶片形态性状差异,并采用分形方法对供试种类局部叶脉和叶片轮廓进行分维值计算;在此基础上,对供试槭属植物叶片的形态多样性进行比较,并讨论了分形理论在叶片形态特征的定量分析及植物系统学研究中的意义。叶片数量性状的测量结果表明：供试种类叶片的矩形度和叶形系数呈显著正相关,纵横轴比与一级脉角呈显著负相关,这些叶片形态参数的变异程度与叶片的形态多样性有关,虽然能在一定程度上反映槭属植物的叶形及叶脉结构变化,但难以充分反映叶片的变异细节及本质特征。分维值的计算结果表明：供试种类的叶片轮廓和局部叶脉的分维值呈显著负相关;叶片轮廓分维值在种间及种内均有显著差异(P<0.05),但部分种类间局部叶脉分维值差异不显著(P>0.05);鸡爪槭(A. palmatum Thunb.)的叶片轮廓和局部叶脉的分维值变异系数显著高于其他供试种类,表明其种内叶片变异的多样性相对较高。根据叶片轮廓和局部叶脉的分维值,可将供试种类分为4类：鸡爪槭、红枫〔A. palmatum f. atropurpureum ( Van Houtte) Schwerim〕和羽裂槭〔A. palmatum var. dissectum ( Thunb.) Miq.〕归为一类,锐角槭( A. acutum W. P. Fang)、色木槭( A. mono Maxim.)、茶条槭( A. ginnala Maxim.)、三角槭( A. buergerianum Miq.)和中华槭( A. sinense Pax)归为一类,建始槭( A. henryi Pax)和樟叶槭( A. cinnamomifolium Hayata)各自归为一类。研究结果揭示：通过叶缘和叶脉的分形分析可以定量反映植物叶片的形态多样性,建议将叶片轮廓分维值和局部叶脉分维值分别作为种水平和属水平的分类依据;此外,分形方法也为定量化研究和评价不同叶片类型的演化程度提供了可行的途径。     

Changes of the morphometric indices and fractal dimension of the spinal cord neurons during ontogenesis of the cherry salmon Oncorhynchus masou

For the quantitative characteristics of the morphology of two groups of spinal cord neurons in the cherry salmon at the early stages of ontogenesis, the fractal dimension and some more traditional morphometric indices, such as the total length of neuronal branches, the number of terminal branches and branchpoints, and the cell area, are determined. The values of the morphometric indices and the fractal dimension of the bivariate neuronal pattern are shown to increase in the course of ontogenesis from the first to the second year of fish life. The correlation between the main morphometric value and the fractal dimension is found, and their correspondence to the morphometric modifications of the dendrite tree in the neurons investigated during ontogenesis is detected.     

间作对桑树和谷子生长和光合日变化的影响

以桑树和谷子为研究材料,探讨了大田条件下,桑树-谷子间作对桑树和谷子的干物质生产、土地利用率和光合日变化的影响.结果表明：桑树-谷子间作条件下,间作桑树的株高、地茎、根长和枝条数分别比单作桑树增加了6.0%、13.7%、6.8%和14.8%,且间作桑树的产叶量比单作桑树增加了31.3%;间作谷子与单作比较,其株高和根长的变化不大.桑树-谷子间作增加了土地当量比,提高了土地利用率.单作、间作桑树和谷子叶片在12:00时均表现出明显的光合午休现象,且单作桑树的光合午休现象比间作桑树严重.桑树-谷子间作提高了中午时桑树叶片气孔导度和水分利用率,增加了桑树光合碳同化能力,抑制了桑树叶片实际光化学效率、电子传递速率和最大光化学效率的下降,从而减缓了桑树的“光合午休”现象.桑树 谷子间作能明显提高桑树叶片的光合生产能力.     

青藏高原不同草地利用方式对土壤粒径分形特征的影响

研究青藏高原草地土壤粒径结构分形特征,为该地区土壤质量评价和生态恢复提供科学依据。以青藏高原4种高寒草地(放牧、围栏禁牧、围栏禁牧+补植、未干扰)为对象,采用分形理论,研究不同利用方式对高寒草地土壤颗粒组成及分形特征的影响,明确土壤粒径分形特征的影响因素。结果表明：与放牧和围栏禁牧+补植相比,围栏禁牧草地中黏粒和粉粒体积分数分别增加了60%—91.1%、43.5%—80.1%,禁牧能够促进土壤砂粒向黏粒和粉粒转变。不同草地利用方式对分形维数有显著影响,单重分形维数D值依次为放牧草地<围栏禁牧+补植草地<未干扰草地=围栏禁牧草地,多重分形维数,包括信息维数D₁、信息维数/容量维数比值D₁/D₀和关联维数D₂依次为放牧草地<围栏禁牧+补植草地<围栏禁牧草地<未干扰草地。单重分形维数D与土壤黏粒、粉粒呈极显著正相关(P<0.01);砂粒、黏粒、粉粒、有机碳和全氮是多重分形维数的限制因素。信息维数D₁、信息维数/容量维数比值D₁...     

Evaluation of posture signal using entropy analysis and fractal dimension in adults with Down syndrome

The aim of this study was to explore new techniques in analysing postural control using nonlinear time-series analysis and to relate these results with the clinical knowledge on the postural system in Down syndrome (DS) subjects. In order to achieve the goal, we analysed the time domain and the frequency domain behaviour, the fractal dimension and the entropy of the centre of pressure signal in both directions during quiet standing in 35 participants with DS, comparing the results with a control population. DS patients evidenced a lack in postural control in anterior–posterior direction due to the impairment both in the high organisation and synergies and in the impairments due to ligament laxity and hypotonia. Maintaining posture is a task achieved by the integration of visual, vestibular and somatosensory receptors and the dynamical nature of this signal gives fundamental data about the lack of postural control in specific pathological condition.     

基于人类活动视角的中国陆域荒野地评估方法

随着人类活动逐渐增加,自然生境向人工基质的转换已成为全球野生动物生存的严重威胁,准确识别荒野地的空间范围对生态治理和生物多样性保护具有重要意义。当前,利用较高精度的新型数据,考虑区域尺度上的地理特征构建指标模型,并识别国家尺度荒野地的实践还较少。从人类活动对自然影响的视角出发构建荒野地识别模型,首先考虑微观视角下人类活动对复杂地理环境的响应特征,构建多要素综合的人类非持续性活动强度计算模型;引入新型数据源,构建空间特征提取算法并建立人工环境和光污染影响指标,明确人类长期活动区;刻画可能的荒野地空间范围,并定量评价其荒野程度。对中国陆域荒野地的识别结果表明:(1)基于人类活动视角构建的荒野地识别模型可有效模拟中国陆域范围内的荒野度分布,其大致呈现"西高东低"的空间格局;(2)中国荒野地占中国陆域面积的22.47%,主要分布在大小兴安岭、青藏高原、内蒙古高原、塔里木盆地等地区;(3)结果与基于人类足迹法的荒野地数据对比,重合率超过80%,表现出良好的识别能力,且为部分区域提供了具有参考性的识别结果。     

Incorporation of dimethoxycurcumin into charged liposomes and the formation kinetics of fractal aggregates of uncharged vectors

Abstract

Dimethoxycurcumin (DMC) is a lipophilic analog of curcumin found in Curcuma longa Linn., which is known to possess significant activity against various cancer cell lines. The purpose of this study was to develop suitable liposomal formulations in order to overcome DMC’s poor water solubility and to study the aggregation kinetic profile using the fractal analysis. DMC was incorporated into liposomal formulations composed of DPPC, DPPC:DPPG:chol (9:1:1 molar ratio) and DPPC:DODAP:chol (9:1:1 molar ratio) liposomes. Light scattering techniques were used to elucidate the physicochemical parameters of the liposomal formulations with and without DMC. The structural characteristics of the incorporated molecule were found to be crucial and promote the aggregation mechanism depending also on the liposomes’ composition. The results of our study contribute to the overall scientific efforts to prepare efficient carriers for DMC and could be a useful tool in order to study more efficiently the kinetics of the aggregation process of the liposomal carriers.     

The imaging and the fractal metrology of chimeric liposomal Drug Delivery nano Systems: the role of macromolecular architecture of polymeric guest

The major advance of mixed liposomes (the so-called chimeric systems) is to control the size, structure, and morphology of these nanoassemblies, and therefore, system colloidal properties, with the aid of a large variety of parameters, such as chemical architecture and composition. The goal of this study is to investigate the alterations of the physicochemical and morphological characteristics of chimeric dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes, caused by the incorporation of block and gradient copolymers (different macromolecular architecture) with different chemical compositions (different amounts of hydrophobic component). Light scattering techniques were utilized in order to characterize physicochemically and to delineate the fractal morphology of chimeric liposomes. In this study, we also investigated the structural differences between the prepared chimeric liposomes as are visualized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It could be concluded that all the chimeric liposomes have regular structure, as SEM images revealed, while their fractal dimensionality was found to be dependent on the macromolecular architecture of the polymeric guest.     

The relationship between caudal differential pressure and activity of Atlantic cod: a potential method to predict oxygen consumption of free-swimming fish

This study reports the first results on telemetry of caudal differential pressure during spontaneous swimming activity in cod Gadus morhua and demonstrates that tail-beat pressure may be used as a predictor of activity and swimming costs of free-swimming cod. Tail-beat pressure was monitored using a differential pressure sensor on the caudal peduncle of cod and spontaneous swimming activity was quantified using a customized video-computer tracking programme. Tail-beat pressure was found to correlate with (1) swimming speed ( U ) and oxygen consumption during forced swimming and (2) mean U during spontaneous activity. Based on the relationship between and the integrated pressure performed by the tail during forced swimming, it should be possible to predict during spontaneous activity. To gain precise measures of activity and thus predictions of for free-swimming fish, however, individual calibrations are necessary.     

The role of the circadian system in fractal neurophysiological control

Many neurophysiological variables such as heart rate, motor activity, and neural activity are known to exhibit intrinsic fractal fluctuations – similar temporal fluctuation patterns at different time scales. These fractal patterns contain information about health, as many pathological conditions are accompanied by their alteration or absence. In physical systems, such fluctuations are characteristic of critical states on the border between randomness and order, frequently arising from nonlinear feedback interactions between mechanisms operating on multiple scales. Thus, the existence of fractal fluctuations in physiology challenges traditional conceptions of health and disease, suggesting that high levels of integrity and adaptability are marked by complex variability, not constancy, and are properties of a neurophysiological network, not individual components. Despite the subject's theoretical and clinical interest, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying fractal regulation remain largely unknown. The recent discovery that the circadian pacemaker (suprachiasmatic nucleus) plays a crucial role in generating fractal patterns in motor activity and heart rate sheds an entirely new light on both fractal control networks and the function of this master circadian clock, and builds a bridge between the fields of circadian biology and fractal physiology. In this review, we sketch the emerging picture of the developing interdisciplinary field of fractal neurophysiology by examining the circadian system's role in fractal regulation.     

Growth in serum-free medium of human colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines on microcarriers: A two-step method allowing optimal cell spreading and growth

Summary Human colonic adenocarcinoma cells have been successfully grown on polystyrene microcarriers by modifying the culture conditions used in monolayer culture. The method can be divided into two culture phases: a) a phase of spreading, wherein cells were seeded in presence of serum-supplemented medium; b) a phase of active growth wherein spread cells on the beads were allowed to grow in a serum-free medium. Under these conditions, optimal spreading and growth of HT 29 and HRT 18 cells on the microcarriers were obtained. A differential propagation was observed between HT 29-D4 and HT 29-D9 cells (both clonal populations derived from HT 29 cells) on the microcarriers that is tentatively related to the discrepancy observed in the spreading efficiency of these clonal cells on serum-coated culture flasks. An index of spreading efficiency (IS index) has been defined to quantify the efficiency of spreading of each cell line on microcarriers. These data gave the opportunity to develop serum-free, scale-up methods to culture cells like HT 29 which release potentially useful products. This work was supported by CNRS (U.A. 202 and U.A. 1186), Fédération Nationale des Centres de Lutte Contre le Cancer (FNCLCC), INSERM (CRE, n^o 847006), CNAMTS-INSERM (8386), MRT (GBM 85M0564) and l'Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (ARC 86-234).     

Intraocular pressure (IOP) in relation to four levels of daily geomagnetic and extreme yearly solar activity

The link between geomagnetic field activity (GMA), solar activity and intraocular pressure (IOP) in healthy individuals was investigated. The IOP of 485 patients (970 eyes) was recorded over three nonconsecutive years (1979, 1986, 1989) which were characterized by maximal solar activity (1979, 1989) or minimal solar activity (1986). The measurements were also correlated with four categories of GMA activity: quiet (level I⁰), unsettled (II⁰), active (III⁰), and stormy (IV⁰). Participants were also differentiated by age and sex. We found that IOP was lowest on days of level IV⁰ (stormy) GMA. The drop in IOP concomitant with a decrease in GMA level was more significant during periods of low solar activity and in persons over 65 years of age. There was a trend towards higher IOP values on days of levels II⁰ and IV⁰ GMA in years of high solar activity. Differences between the sexes and among individuals younger than 65 years were not significant. Our results show an interesting aspect of environmental influence on the healthy population.     

三峡库区紫色土植被恢复过程的土壤团粒组成及分形特征

采用空间代替时间方法,研究了三峡库区紫色土植被恢复过程的土壤团粒结构特征。结果表明:与撂荒地相比,柏木新造林、幼龄林和中龄林表层土壤的5-2 mm干筛团聚体分别增加6.03%、10.32%和10.97%,而<0.25 mm干筛团聚体明显减少;各层土壤的≥0.25 mm水稳性团聚体均随植被恢复进程而明显增加,但其分形维数明显减小;紫色土水稳性团聚体的平均质量直径和几何平均直径均与≥5 mm团聚体呈极显著(P<0.01)正相关,与<0.25 mm团聚体呈极显著负相关,相反地,分形维数与<0.25 mm团聚体呈极显著正相关。研究表明三峡库区植被恢复能有效改善紫色土土壤团粒结构,且随植被恢复年限增加而增强,但是,对郁闭度过大的柏木中龄人工林,应适当抚育间伐。     

The effects of extra-low-frequency atmospheric pressure oscillations on human mental activity

 Slight atmospheric pressure oscillations (APO) in the extra-low-frequency range below 0.1 Hz, which frequently occur naturally, can influence human mental activity. This phenomenon has been observed in experiments with a group of 12 healthy volunteers exposed to experimentally created APO with amplitudes 30–50 Pa in the frequency band 0.011–0.17 Hz. Exposure of the subjects to APO for 15–30 min caused significant changes in attention and short-term memory functions, performance rate, and mental processing flexibility. The character of the response depended on the APO frequency and coherence. Periodic APO promoted purposeful mental activity, accompanied by an increase in breath-holding duration and a slower heart rate. On the other hand, quasi-chaotic APO, similar to the natural perturbations of atmospheric pressure, disrupted mental activity. These observations suggest that APO could be partly responsible for meteorosensitivity in humans. Received: 22 August 1997/Revised: 3 December 1998/Accepted: 25 February 1999     

The StcE metalloprotease of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli reduces the inner mucus layer and promotes adherence to human colonic epithelium ex vivo

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a major foodborne pathogen and tightly adheres to human colonic epithelium by forming attaching/effacing lesions. To reach the epithelial surface, EHEC must penetrate the thick mucus layer protecting the colonic epithelium. In this study, we investigated how EHEC interacts with the intestinal mucus layer using mucin‐producing LS174T colon carcinoma cells and human colonic mucosal biopsies. The level of EHEC binding and attaching/effacing lesion formation in LS174T cells was higher compared to mucin‐deficient colon carcinoma cell lines, and initial adherence was independent of the presence of flagellin, Escherichia coli common pilus, or long polar fimbriae. Although EHEC infection did not affect gene expression of secreted mucins, it resulted in reduced MUC2 glycoprotein levels. This effect was dependent on the catalytic activity of the secreted metalloprotease StcE, which reduced the inner mucus layer and thereby promoted EHEC access and binding to the epithelium in vitro and ex vivo. Given the lack of efficient therapies against EHEC infection, StcE may represent a suitable target for future treatment and prevention strategies.     

NO对家兔Oddi括约肌肌电活动和血压的影响

应用３２只家兔观察一氧氮对Ｏｄｄｉ括约肌肌电和血压的影响。静脉注射ＮＯ合酶抑制剂Ｎ＾Ｇ－硝基－Ｌ－精氨酸,可见ＳＯ肌电振幅增大和血压升高,Ｌ－ＮＮＡ所致的肌电活动增强可Ｌ－精氨酸反转。