江西桃红岭梅花鹿国家级自然保护区爬行动物资源调查

江西桃红岭梅花鹿自然保护区自成立以来,从未进行过爬行动物资源调查。为掌握保护区爬行动物资源现状,加强生物多样性保护,2005年4月下旬～5月上旬、8月中旬;2006年8月上旬,前后3次对该保护区爬行动物资源进行了实地考察,首次报道保护区现已记录27种爬行动物,隶属3目9科,占江西省80种爬行动物的33．75％。其中东洋界种类有19种,广布种8种,无古北界物种分布。区系组成上明显地以东洋界物种（特别是华中区和华南区共有种17种）为主,这与保护区在动物地理区划上属东洋界华中区东部丘陵平原亚区相一致。此次考察增加赣北（鄱阳湖）平原省爬行动物新记录5种,分别是绞花林蛇、黑眉锦蛇、中国水蛇、渔游蛇、舟山眼镜蛇;对保护区爬行动物的分布和资源现状进行了分析,并提出了保护对策。     

广东大峡谷自然保护区两栖爬行动物资源调查

2005年8月中下旬、2006年3月中下旬和5月中下旬,共3次对广东大峡谷自然保护区的两栖爬行动物资源进行了实地调查,结合有关文献资料的报道结果,广东大峡谷自然保护区现已记录67种两栖爬行动物,隶属2纲4目17科。其中两栖纲1目6科22种;爬行纲3目11科45种。其动物区系组成以东洋界种类明显占优势,占总物种数的88．06％。两栖爬行动物地理区划上属东洋界华中区东部丘陵平原亚区。此次调查发现的福建掌突蟾 （Leptolalax liui）为广东省两栖动物新分布记录。     

Simplifying the phytohaemagglutinin skin-testing technique in studies of avian immunocompetence

1. Researchers involved in ecology and toxicology, as well as many other aspects of avian biology, use phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) skin testing as a means of evaluating the immune status of individuals.
2. Immune function, one measure of individual quality, can be used as a sensitive, non-lethal variable that may be negatively affected in animals exposed to degraded, contaminated or otherwise disturbed ecological zones.
3. Typically this test has been applied by challenging one wing web with the immunostimulant PHA, while the other 'control' wing is injected with phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Injection sites on the wing web are measured before and 24 h after injection with PHA or PBS. The immune response is considered to be the difference between the two wings.
4. Results from PHA skin tests conducted on 608 birds in seven studies representing passerines, waterfowl, upland game birds and raptors are examined.
5. Numerous advantages to eliminating the PBS injection as the experimental control are: (i) decrease by half, the time required for testing; (ii) decrease handling-related stress on the birds (proportional to handling time); (iii) reduce the probability of errors at injection time; (iv) spare the other wing for different tests or uses (e.g. tuberculin DTH testing); and (v) decrease the coefficient of variation that is due to measurement inaccuracies.
6. The only disadvantage identified is that hypersensitive individuals (outliers) could be missed, which in this case represents 2 of 608 individuals.     

Increased temperature variation poses a greater risk to species than climate warming

Increases in the frequency, severity and duration of temperature extremes are anticipated in the near future. Although recent work suggests that changes in temperature variation will have disproportionately greater effects on species than changes to the mean, much of climate change research in ecology has focused on the impacts of mean temperature change. Here, we couple fine-grained climate projections (2050–2059) to thermal performance data from 38 ectothermic invertebrate species and contrast projections with those of a simple model. We show that projections based on mean temperature change alone differ substantially from those incorporating changes to the variation, and to the mean and variation in concert. Although most species show increases in performance at greater mean temperatures, the effect of mean and variance change together yields a range of responses, with temperate species at greatest risk of performance declines. Our work highlights the importance of using fine-grained temporal data to incorporate the full extent of temperature variation when assessing and projecting performance.     

亚临床甲亢和甲减发病的实验室调查

目的　探讨本地区亚临床甲状腺疾病的发病情况。　方法　随机抽样 2 550例健康体检者作甲状腺功能检测 ,以促甲状腺素 ( TSH)水平异常的检出率来判断亚临床甲状腺疾病的发病率。　结果　亚临床甲亢的检出率为5.4 5% ,亚临床甲减的检出率为 6 .98% ;两种疾病 T3、T4、FT3、 FT4 和 TSH的均数比较具有非常显著性差异 ( P <0 .0 1)。　结论　本地区具有亚临床甲状腺疾病的发病现象 ,亚临床甲减的发病率比亚临床甲亢稍高     

Regulation of enzymatic activity: one possible role of dietary boron in higher animals and humans

It is well established that vascular plants, diatoms, and some species of marine algal flagellates have acquired an absolute requirement for boron (B), although the primary role remains unknown. Discovery of naturally occurring organoboron compounds, all iono phoric macrodiolide antibiotics with a single B atom critical for activity, established at least one biochemical role of B. The unusual nature of B chemistry suggests the possibility of a variety of biological roles for B. At physiological concentrations and pH, B may react with one N group or one to four hydroxyl groups on specific biological ligands with suitable configuration and charge to form dissociable organoboron compounds or complexes. Suitable ligands include pyridine (e.g., NAD⁺ or NADP) or flavin (e.g., FAD) nucleotides and serine proteases (SP). B reacts with thecis adjacent hydroxyls on the ribosyl moiety of the nucleotides or, in the serine proteases, the N on the imidazole group of histidine or the hydroxyl group on the serine moiety. Reversible inhibition by B of activity of SP or oxidoreductases that require pyridine or flavin nucleotides is well known. Therefore, a proposed essential role for B is as a regulator of relevant pathways, including respiratory burst, that utilize these enzymes. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Services, Northern Plains Area is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, and all agency services are available without discrimination.