中国温带草原植被NDVI时空变化及其对气候变化的响应

为探究中国温带草原植被变化及其对气候变化的响应规律,本文利用1982—2015年逐月气象数据和逐旬GIMMS NDVI数据,分析了中国温带草原区不同类型草原植被NDVI变化特征及其对气候变化的响应。结果表明：中国温带草原植被生长季NDVI在1982—2015年总体呈增加趋势,增加速率为0.008 (10 a^-1);在生长季内的不同季节,温带草原植被NDVI均呈增加趋势,但存在一定的空间差异;生长季内,降水是中国温带草原植被生长最重要的影响因子,春季和夏季降水的增多明显促进温带草原3种类型植被的生长;在气温影响方面,春季夜晚最低温的升高对于所有类型温带草原植被生长均有促进作用,而春季和秋季白天最高温的升高能够明显促进温带草甸草原和典型草原植被的生长。本研究发现,夏季夜晚最低温和白天最高温对中国温带草原植被有不对称的影响,夜晚最低温的增加会促进植被的生长,而白天最高温的增加对植被生长起到抑制作用。     

近30年来青藏高原高寒草地NDVI动态变化对自然及人为因子的响应

草地生态系统是陆地生态系统的重要组成部分，在调节气候、水土保持、防风固沙、保护生物多样性等方面发挥着重要作用。青藏高原是全球海拔最高的独特地域单元，平均海拔超过4000 m，素有“世界第三极”之称，亦是我国重要的生态安全屏障，其对气候变化敏感且易受人类活动的影响，属于气候变化敏感区和生态脆弱带。近年来，由于气候变化和人类活动的不断加剧，青藏高原区域气候和环境发生了重大变化，气候变暖、水污染、草地退化和沙化等问题已严重阻碍了当地社会经济的可持续发展。高寒草地是青藏高原主要的植被类型，在气候变化和人类活动加剧的背景下，青藏高原高寒草地植被的动态变化受到人们的广泛关注。归一化植被指数（Normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI）因能有效地反映植被覆盖程度和生长状况而被广泛应用于植被动态的研究中。气温与降水被认为是影响青藏高原植被动态的主要气候因子，放牧强度与人口数量则是主要人为因子。因此，研究高寒草地植被对气候变化和人类活动的响应机制对预测未来草地变化有着重要的意义。基于青藏高原生长季草地的NDVI、气温、降水、放牧强度及人口数量等数据，在县区尺度上，采用趋势分析法探究了1982—2013年青藏高原143个县区生长季草地NDVI动态变化、气候变化及人类活动的变化，同时采用面板数据模型分析了32年来青藏高原143个县区气候、人为因子变化对草地NDVI变化的相对贡献。研究结果显示：（1）青藏高原高寒草地生长季NDVI总体呈增长趋势，草地植被生长状态呈现“整体改善、局部退化”趋势；（2）青藏高原生长季平均气温与降水量整体增加，气候呈现“暖湿化”趋势；（3）在长时间尺度上，气候因子主导了青藏高原高寒草地NDVI的变化，降雨和气温的增加促进草地NDVI的增加，放牧强度的持续增加则导致草地NDVI的减少。     

1982-2015年黄土高原NDVI时空演变及其对气候变化的季节响应

基于GIMMS NDVI、温度和降水数据,利用集合经验模态分解(EEMD)、线性回归分析、偏相关分析等方法分析了1982-2015年黄土高原植被覆盖时空变化及其对气候变化的季节响应。结果表明:年际变化趋势上,1982-2015年黄土高原生长季、春、夏、秋季NDVI均呈显著增长趋势,且各个季节NDVI增加速率逐年升高,尤其以夏季增加速率的变化最为明显;空间上,生长季、春、夏、秋季NDVI均呈由西北向东南递增的趋势,且在大部分地区呈显著上升趋势;线性回归表明,生长季、春、夏、秋季温度均呈显著上升趋势;生长季、秋季降水呈增加趋势,春、夏季降水呈减少趋势。EEMD分析进一步表明,生长季、春、夏、秋季温度均先升高后降低,降水均呈先减少后增加的趋势;空间变化趋势上,温度在生长季、春、夏、秋季大部分地区呈显著上升趋势,降水仅秋季有部分区域呈显著上升趋势;NDVI与温度在黄土高原东北部及西南部地区呈显著正相关,与降水在黄土高原北部及西北部地区呈显著正相关。     

近40年青藏高原植被动态变化对水热条件的响应

植被对水热条件的响应因生态系统的空间异质性而具有显著的差异。基于GIMMS NDVI3g和MODIS NDVI逐旬数据集,通过数据融合构建的青藏高原1982—2020年的植被时间序列,利用Mann-Kendall趋势法分析近40年植被动态变化及其对温度、降水和辐射等水热条件的响应,并划定了植被动态的主要水热驱动因子分区。结果表明：(1)近40年青藏高原植被生长季平均NDVI呈现显著上升趋势,增速为0.006/10a,植被NDVI显著增加和减少的区域分别占青藏高原总面积的73.97%和18.38%;(2)青藏高原植被对水热条件的响应在静态上表现为高原腹地较高原边缘更加明显;在动态上表现为不同植被类型区对水热因子的响应关系、方向、程度均有所不同;整体上除森林和灌丛外,所有高寒植被类型与降水的响应程度要优于温度和辐射;(3)青藏高原植被生长受水热因子驱动的区域占高原总面积的55.95%,其中42.72%以上的区域气温、降水和太阳辐射的驱动作用是互补的,13.23%的区域由多个水热因子联合驱动;44.05%的区域为非气候驱动区。     

青藏高原沼泽湿地植被NDVI时空变化及其对气候变化的响应

基于2000—2017年逐旬MODIS NDVI数据和逐月气温、降水数据,分析了青藏高原不同类型沼泽湿地植被生长季NDVI时空变化特征及其对气候变化的响应。研究结果表明：青藏高原沼泽植被生长季多年平均NDVI自西北向东南逐渐增加;沼泽植被生长季平均NDVI在2000—2017年总体呈现显著上升趋势 (0.010/10a) ,生长季NDVI呈上升趋势的面积占整个研究区面积的78.25%。青藏高原沼泽植被生长季NDVI与降水量总体上呈现弱的相关性,表明降水并不是影响该地区沼泽植被生长的主要因素。青藏高原沼泽植被生长主要受气温影响,气温升高能明显促进沼泽植被的生长。此外,首次发现白天和夜晚温度升高对青藏高原沼泽植被生长具有不对称性影响,其中夜晚增温对沼泽植被生长的促进效果更加显著。在全球白天和夜晚不对称增温的背景下,白天和夜晚温度对青藏高原沼泽植被的不对称影响应当引起重视,尤其是在利用模型模拟未来气候变化对该地区沼泽植被影响时。     

浙江省植被NDVI动态及其对气候的响应

利用GIMMS和MODIS两种归一化植被指数(NDVI)资料反演了1982—2010年浙江植被覆盖状况,结合同期研究区63个气象站点的气温、降水和湿润指数等气候指标,分析了该地区植被年际变化、月际变化及其对气候要素的响应特征。结果表明:(1)研究期间,浙江气候总体呈暖干化趋势,植被覆盖缓慢下降,主要是由于森林植被遭破坏,农业生产活动受抑制影响所致,其中NDVI显著减少的地区约占全省陆域面积的29.1%,主要发生在6—11月;(2)降水量及干湿程度对浙江植被NDVI年变化起着决定性作用。植被与气候要素年变化相关分析发现,NDVI与湿润指数关系较降水、气温更为密切,两者相关及偏相关系数均通过0.05水平的置信度检验,这表明在年际尺度上,湿度的增加增大了植被的生长势,有利于植被生长;(3)植被与气候要素月变化分析表明冬季的热量供给是影响浙江植被生长的重要因子,而植被变化对夏季降水和干湿程度的最大响应为滞后两个月;(4)农业生产水平的提高使得农作物种植区NDVI有所增加,人类活动对浙江植被覆盖的影响不可忽视。     

1985-2015年中国不同生态系统NDVI时空变化及其对气候因子的响应

植被是陆地生态系统不可或缺的部分,气候是影响其动态变化的重要驱动因素。因此,探究植被的时空变化及其与气候因子的响应关系,有助于理解陆地生态系统的内在演化机制。目前,不同生态系统尺度下的植被动态变化与气候因子的时间响应关系仍未被完整剖析。因此,为了厘清过去30年不同生态系统植被生长对气候因子的响应关系,利用GIMMS NDVI3g数据和气候资料数据,通过Theil-Sen Median趋势分析和Mann-Kendall检验分析了1985—2015年中国陆地NDVI的时空变化特征,结合时间序列相关分析探究了NDVI变化与降水、温度和饱和水汽压差的内部关联,探讨了中国不同生态系统植被与气候因子间的时间响应机制。结果表明：(1) 1985—2015年中国陆地植被呈现改善趋势,年均NDVI先减小后增加,拐点时间在1995年左右,整体变化率为0.5×10^-3/a。农田、森林和草地生态系统的植被显著改善的程度最高,湿地生态系统的植被退化趋势最显著。(2)中国陆地植被NDVI与气候因子的相关性存在明显的空间异质性,且受不同生态系统分区影响。内蒙古高原中部草地生态系统NDVI与降水...     

中国温带草地物候对气候变化的响应及其对总初级生产力的贡献

气候变暖引起的植物物候变化影响了陆地生态系统功能和碳循环。目前研究着重关注温带和热带森林物候变化趋势、驱动因素,关于干旱半干旱地区草地物候变化及其对生态系统总初级生产力（gross primary productivity, GPP）影响仍知之甚少。因此,开展草地植物物候与生产力之间的关系研究对预测草地生态系统响应未来气候变化和区域碳循环至关重要。基于1982-2015年气象资料和GIMMS NDVI3g数据,分析了中国温带草原植被返青期（start of the growing season, SGS）和枯黄期（end of the growing season, EGS）变化及其对气候的响应,并借助一阶差分法量化物候对GPP动态变化的贡献。结果表明：（1）季前1-2个月的夜间温度增温会显著提前SGS, 而当月至季前2个月的白天温度对SGS有着微弱的促进作用;季前3个月的累积降水对SGS提前作用最为强烈,累积太阳辐射在各个时期对SGS影响相对较弱。（2）不同季前时间尺度昼夜温度对草地EGS均表现出相反的作用,短期累积降水对EGS起到显著延迟的区域范围最大,太阳辐射随着季前时间的增加对草地枯黄期的延迟作用逐渐转变为提前作用。（3）EGS对草地GPP年际变化趋势的相对贡献率强于返青期。研究结果有助于深化陆地生态系统与气候变化、碳循环之间相互作用的认识,为草地适应未来气候变化和生态建设提供科学依据。     

天津地区归一化植被指数时间动态及其与气候因子的关系

利用1982—2003年8 km×8 km的NASA/GIMMS半月合成的归一化植被指数(NDVI)和气候数据,研究了天津年平均及逐月NDVI变化趋势以及降水和气温对其影响。结果表明：1982—2003年,年平均NDVI呈现波动性的微弱降低趋势;生长季中,不同月份的年际变化存在明显差异;春季和秋季NDVI呈增加趋势,其中10月达到显著性水平（P<0.05）,而夏季NDVI是降低的,6月下降达到极显著水平（P<0.01）;逐月NDVI与同期月平均气温及月降水量的回归分析表明,NDVI与温度和降水均有很好的非线性正相关关系（P<0.001）,证实温度和降水对NDVI的影响有很强的季节性;降水和气温对生长季不同月份的植被NDVI影响明显不同,同时呈现一定的滞后性。     

基于生态地理分区的大兴安岭植被物候时空变化

植被与气候的关系十分密切,植被物候可作为全球气候变化的指示器.大兴安岭位于我国最北部,对气候变化较为敏感,研究该区植被物候的时空变化对评估全球变化对陆地生态系统的影响具有重要意义.依据中国生态地理区划图,将大兴安岭划分为4个生态研究区域,本文利用GIMMS NDVI 3g遥感数据集分析1982—2012年大兴安岭整体及各生态地理分区植被物候变化.结果表明: 研究期间,所有分区植被生长季开始日期均表现为提前趋势,生长季结束日期均表现为推迟趋势.植被物候对气候因子变化敏感,尤其是对气温的敏感程度高于降水,其中,北段山地落叶针叶林区植被生长季开始日期与春季温度呈显著负相关;除南段草原区外,其他3个分区植被生长季结束日期均与秋季降水呈显著负相关.从整体来看,植被物候随海拔、纬度的变化趋势明显.     

Race and Racism in America and in Anthropology

Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview . Audrey Smedley
Anthropology and Race . Eugenia Shanklin     

Degradation and conversion of somatostatin in normal and diabetic rats in vivo and in vitro

Plasma somatostatin-like immunoreactivity in the portal and jugular veins of streptozotocin diabetic rats was compared with that in normal control rats. In the diabetic group, somatostatin levels in the portal (p less than 0.05) and jugular (p less than 0.01) veins were both elevated compared with those in the control group. Moreover, the degree of elevation was greater in the jugular vein than in the portal vein. To further investigate the role of the liver in the clearance of somatostatin-28 in vivo, 2 micrograms of somatostatin-28 was administered as a bolus into the external jugular vein of intact and functionally hepatectomized rats. The mean half-time of somatostatin-28 was significantly longer in intact diabetic rats than in controls (p less than 0.05). The functional hepatectomy did not cause a significant difference in the half-time in diabetic rats but made it longer in control rats. These results suggest that the longer half-time of somatostatin-28 in diabetic rats in vivo is due to its slower hepatic clearance. The hepatic clearance of somatostatin-28 and somatostatin-14 was further studied in vitro using a recirculating liver perfusion method. The hepatic clearance of 1.2 nM of either somatostatin-28 or somatostatin-14 was significantly lower in diabetic rats than in controls (p less than 0.01). This indicates that elevated plasma somatostatin levels in diabetic rats are caused at least in part by decreased hepatic clearance of somatostatin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Variation in infectivity and aggressiveness in space and time in wild host-pathogen systems: causes and consequences

Variation in host resistance and in the ability of pathogens to infect and grow (i.e. pathogenicity) is important as it provides the raw material for antagonistic (co)evolution and therefore underlies risks of disease spread, disease evolution and host shifts. Moreover, the distribution of this variation in space and time may inform us about the mode of coevolutionary selection (arms race vs. fluctuating selection dynamics) and the relative roles of G × G interactions, gene flow, selection and genetic drift in shaping coevolutionary processes. Although variation in host resistance has recently been reviewed, little is known about overall patterns in the frequency and scale of variation in pathogenicity, particularly in natural systems. Using 48 studies from 30 distinct host–pathogen systems, this review demonstrates that variation in pathogenicity is ubiquitous across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Quantitative analysis of a subset of extensively studied plant–pathogen systems shows that the magnitude of within‐population variation in pathogenicity is large relative to among‐population variation and that the distribution of pathogenicity partly mirrors the distribution of host resistance. At least part of the variation in pathogenicity found at a given spatial scale is adaptive, as evidenced by studies that have examined local adaptation at scales ranging from single hosts through metapopulations to entire continents and – to a lesser extent – by comparisons of pathogenicity with neutral genetic variation. Together, these results support coevolutionary selection through fluctuating selection dynamics. We end by outlining several promising directions for future research.     

Electroejaculation in chimpanzees and gorillas and artificial insemination in chimpanzees

Electroejaculation was performed in 3 chimpanzees, 1 pygmy chimpanzee, and 2 gorillas with an instrument that delivers a modified sine wave current with a frequency of 24 Hz. The current stimuli were applied by a rectal probe with longitudinal electrodes. The electrical parameters varied from 6 to 12 V and from 30 to 40 mA for response of erection and lay between 8 and 18 V and between 40 and 145 mA during semen emission. Eleven chimpanzee semen samples showed the following data (x ± SD): total volume 1.9 ± 1.3 ml, volume of the liquid fraction 0.3 ± 0.2 ml, spermatozoa per ejaculate 743 ± 376 × 10⁶, sperm motility 52.7 ± 9.6%, morphologically abnormal spermatozoa 12.2 ± 7.5%. From an adult gorilla, three semen samples were collected, in each case without spermatozoa. The electrostimulation of a 6-year-old gorilla led to an erection, but not to semen emission. Three female chimpanzees were inseminated with fresh or frozen semen, each of them within three different estrous cycles. None of these inseminations led to a pregnancy.     

Aminoacylation in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius and in methanogenic and halophilic archaebacteria

Abstract Phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PRS) from the sulphur-metabolizing thermoacidophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus acidocaldarius has been purified 150-fold using different chromatographic steps. The enzyme has a M _r of 270 000 and exhibits considerable thermostability in a temperature range up to 90°C with optimal activity at 70°C. Conservation of antigenic determinants could not be detected by antibodies against various PRS of all primary kingdoms. As a further means to detect traits of phylogenetic relationship, the cross-species reactivity between PRS and tRNAs of organisms from the three branches of archaebacteria and from all primary kingdoms reveals the group character of all 3 branches of the archaebacterial domain, the sulphur-metabolizing, methanogenic and halophilic archaebacteria.     

Advances in purine and pyrimidine metabolism in health and diseases

ABSTRACT

In June, 2015, the Purine and Pyrimidine Society organized the 16th biennial symposium on Purine and Pyrimidine metabolism at the Faculty House of Columbia University, New York City. This exciting meeting focused on these important molecules, new developments in inborn errors of metabolism; therapeutic analogs. In addition, the biochemistry of mammalian and non-mammalian systems were discussed. Due to significant advances in molecular medicine, the boundaries between clinical and basic sciences have merged into exciting translational research, of which a small portion was highlighted in the presymposium.     

MPD and DNA Bending in Crystals and in Solution

Bending of 15 to 24° is observed within crystal structures ofB-DNA duplexes, is strongly sequence-dependent, and exhibits no correlation with the concentration of MPD (2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol) in the crystallizing solution. Two types of bends are observed: facultative bends or flexible hinges at junctions between regions of G·C and A·T base-pairs, and a persistent and almost obligatory bend at the center of the sequence R-G-C-Y. Only A-tracts are characteristically straight and unbent in every crystal structure examined to date. A detailed examination of normal vector plots for individual strands of a double helix provides an explanation, in terms of the stacking properties of guanine and adenine bases. The effect of high MPD concentrations, in both solution and crystal, is to decrease local bending somewhat without removing it altogether. MPD gel retardation experiments provide no basis for choosing among the three models that seek to explain macroscopic curvature of DNA by means of microscopic bending: junction bending, bent A-tracts, or bent general- sequence DNA. Crystallographic data on the straightness of A-tracts, the bendability of non-A sequences, and the identity of inclination angles in A-tract and non-A-tractB-DNA support only the general-sequence bending model. The pre-melting transition observed in A-tract DNA probably represents a relaxation of stiff adenine stacks to a flexible conformation more typical of general-sequence DNA.