Science, Art, or Application—the "Karma" of Restoration Ecology

The present state of restoration ecology is far away from Bradshaw’s “acid test for ecology.” The conclusions drawn from the series of papers in this issue and from the Jena workshop suggest some directions in which the field may progress. More attention must be paid to the degraded state, which should be evaluated by its specific features and carefully analyzed before any restoration plan is laid down. Restoration goals have to be realistic, which includes the appreciation of globally changing conditions, resulting in a paradigm‐shift toward “forward‐restoration.” Basically, the transition from the degraded state conditions to the target state is a kind of succession that is manipulated by the application of goal‐orientated and system‐specific disturbances. Whenever possible, restorationists should step back and make use of naturally occurring succession, which requires a sophisticated restoration strategy, involving flexible management responses, multiple alternative target states, robust measurements for the restoration progress, and careful long‐term monitoring. The unique feature of restoration ecology is the involvement of socioeconomic decisions, and conceptual frameworks for ecological restoration have to implement the specific links to natural succession. To bridge the gap between ecological theory and on the ground restoration, it is essential that restoration practice is translated into the vocabulary and thinking of basic ecology. If all these aspects are integrated, ecological restoration as an application—and restoration ecology as an applied science—may develop into an acid test for our understanding of interactions between people and their environment, rather than for pure ecology.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Actinobacteria</Emphasis>: the good,the bad,and the ugly

The actinobacteria are arguably the richest source of small molecule diversity on the planet. These compounds have an incredible variety of chemical structures and biological activities (in nature and in the laboratory). Their potential for the development of therapeutic applications cannot be underestimated. It is suggested that an improved understanding of the biological roles of low molecular weight compounds in nature will lead to the discovery an inexhaustible supply of novel therapeutic agents in the next decade. To support this objective, a functional marriage of biochemistry, genomics, genetics, microbiology, and modern natural product chemistry will be essential.     

Meaning, Medicine, and the "Placebo Effect"

Meaning, Medicine, and the "Placebo Effect" Daniel Moerman Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. xiii. 172 pp.     

Colony growth and dispersal in the ant-tended aphid, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aphis craccivora</Emphasis> Koch,and the non-ant-tended aphid, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acyrthosiphon pisum</Emphasis> Harris,under the absence of predators and ants

To elucidate the potential for colony growth and the dispersal of aphids in relation to the ant attendance, the mobility, tolerance of starvation, colony growth, and dispersal were examined in the ant-tended Aphis craccivora Koch and the non-ant-tended Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris under the absence of predators and ants. The increase of the dispersal rate with density was more conspicuous in Ac. pisum than Ap. craccivora. The success rate of dispersal was higher in Ac. pisum than Ap. craccivora. These results would be derived from the higher ability of dispersal by walking in Ac. pisum than Ap. craccivora. The longer legs, higher walking speed, and stronger tolerance of starvation in Ac. pisum might result in a higher ability of dispersal by walking. These traits may have developed in relation to non-ant attendance, because Ac. pisum aphids frequently escape from natural enemies by dropping from the host plant. On the other hand, Ap. craccivora have not developed morphological and behavioral traits concerning dispersal by walking, because increasing colony size without dispersal is likely to be advantageous for ant attraction. Escaping behaviors of Ap. craccivora from natural enemies have not been well developed due to the ant’s defense against natural enemies. The proportion of alatae in Ap. craccivora was higher than in Ac. pisum instead of a lesser ability for dispersal by walking in Ap. craccivora. The differences in ant attendance have been influenced in the development of morphological and behavioral traits concerning the dispersal ability, and then, different potentials for reproduction and dispersal have developed in ant-tended aphids and non-ant-tended aphids.     

Diurnal rhythmic expression of the rhythm-related genes, <Emphasis Type="Italic">rPeriod1, rPeriod2,</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic"> rClock</Emphasis>, in the rat brain

High densities of the mRNA of three rhythm-related genes, rPeriod1 (rPer1), rPer2, and rClock, which share high homology in Drosophila and mammals, are found in the rat hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN, however, is not the only brain region that expresses these genes. To understand the possible physiological roles of these rhythm-related genes, we examined expression of these genes in different brain regions at various time points in male Sprague--Dawley rats. Using semi quantitativein situ hybridization with ³⁵S-riboprobes to evaluate mRNA levels, the diurnal rhythmicity of rPer1, and rPer2 mRNA levels was found in the SCN, arcuate nucleus, and median eminence/pars tuberalis. Expression patterns of mRNA for rPer1 and rPer2, however, were not similar in these brain regions. The rhythmicity in these brain regions was specific, because it was not observed in the cerebellum or hippocampus. Moreover, diurnal changes in rClock mRNA expression were not detected in any of the brain regions examined. These findings suggest that the different expression patterns observed for rPer1, rPer2, and rClock mRNAs may be attributed to their different physiological roles in these brain regions, and support previous work indicating that circadian rhythms in the brain are widespread.     

A review of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina lineella</Emphasis> species-group of the subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anopachys</Emphasis> Motschulsky, 1860, genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysolina</Emphasis> Motschulsky, 1860 (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae, Chrysomelinae)

The Chrysolina lineella species-group of the subgenus Anopachys Motschulsky, 1860 is revised. Chrysolina watanabei Takizawa, 1970 is revalidated from the synonymy with Ch. lineigera (Jacobson, 1901). Ch. sundukovi Mikhailov, 2006 is a new junior synonym of Ch. watanabei. Special attention is paid to the infraspecific variability of the male and female genitalia. The structure of the aedeagal flagellum and the spermatheca are used as diagnostic characters. A key to species is included. Ch. watanabei is for the first time recorded from the Asian continent (Primorskii Territory of Russia and Northeastern China).     

Identification,characterization, and expression of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">SWEET</Emphasis> gene family in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phalaenopsis equestris</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dendrobium officinale</Emphasis>

Sugars are important molecules that function not only as primary metabolites, but also as nutrients and signal molecules in plants. The sugar transport protein genes family SWEET has been recently identified. The availability of the Dendrobium officinale and Phalaenopsis equestris genome sequences offered the opportunity to study the SWEET gene family in this two orchid species. We identified 22 and 16 putative SWEET genes, respectively, in the genomes of D. officinale and P. equestris using comprehensive bioinformatics analysis. Based on phylogenetic comparisons with SWEET proteins from Arabidopsis and rice, the DoSWEET and PeSWEET proteins could be divided into four clades; among these, clade II specifically lacked PeSWEETs and clade IV specifically lacked DoSWEETs, and there were orthologs present between D. officinale and P. equestris. Protein sequence alignments suggest that there is a predicted serine phosphorylation site in each of the highly conserved MtN3/saliva domain regions. Gene expression analysis in four tissues showed that three PeSWEET genes were most highly expressed in the flower, leaf, stem, and root, suggesting that these genes might play important roles in growth and development in P. equestris. Analysis of gene expression in different floral organs showed that five PeSWEET genes were highly expressed in the column (gynostemium), implying their possible involvement in reproductive development in this species. The expression patterns of seven PeSWEETs in response to different abiotic stresses showed that three genes were upregulated significantly in response to high temperature and two genes were differently expressed at low temperature. The results of this study lay the foundation for further functional analysis of SWEET genes in orchids.     

A thin-film electrochemical study of the "blue" copper proteins,auracyanin A and auracyanin B,from the photosynthetic bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chloroflexus</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">aurantiacus</Emphasis>: the reduction potential as a function of pH

The reversible formal potentials of auracyanin A and auracyanin B, two closely related "blue" copper proteins from the photosynthetic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus, have been determined by protein film voltammetry in the range 4相似文献   

Morphology and comparative ecology of the fairy ring fungi, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vascellum curtisii</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bovista dermoxantha</Emphasis>, on turf of bentgrass,bluegrass, and Zoysiagrass

We identified the causal fungi of fairy rings as Vascellum curtisii and Bovista dermoxantha on the turf of bentgrass, bluegrass, and Zoysiagrass. Observing the fairy rings developed in the turfgrass study site in Chiba City for 5 years from 1998, V. curtisii, producing sporophores during June and November except midsummer, formed darker-green rings than the adjacent turf and withered the three kinds of turf. B. dermoxantha produced sporophores exclusively in midsummer. The fungus formed dark green rings on the three kinds of turf but withered only bentgrass and bluegrass. The optimum mycelial growth temperature of V. curtisii was 30°C. Whereas that of B. dermoxantha ranged between 35° and 40°C. The infection test of the fungi to the seedlings revealed that V. curtisii damaged Zoysiagrass more severely than bentgrass and that B. dermoxantha was more injurious to bentgrass than Zoysiagrass.     

Cleavage pattern,gastrulation, and neurulation in the appendicularian, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oikopleura dioica</Emphasis>

The appendicularian, Oikopleura dioica is a chordate. Its life cycle is extremely short—approximately 5 days—and its tadpole shape with a beating tail is retained throughout entire life. The tadpole hatches after 3 h of development at 20°C. Here, we describe the cleavage pattern and morphogenetic cell movements during gastrulation and neurulation. Cleavage showed an invariant pattern. It is basically bilateral but also shows various minor left–right asymmetries starting from the four-cell stage. We observed two rounds of unequal cleavage of the posterior-vegetal B-line cells at the posterior pole. The nature of the unequal cleavages is reminiscent of those in ascidian embryos and suggests the presence of a centrosome-attracting body, a special subcellular structure at the posterior pole. The representation of the cell division pattern in this report will aid the identification of each cell, a prerequisite for clarifying the gene expression patterns in early embryos. Gastrulation started as early as the 32-cell stage and progressed in three phases. By the end of the second phase at the 64-cell stage, every vegetal cell had ingressed into the embryo, and animal cells had covered the entire embryo by epiboly. There was no archenteron formation. In the anterior region, eight A-line cells were aligned as a 2 × 4 array along the anterior–posterior axis and become internalized during the 64-cell stage. This process was considered to correspond to neurulation. The simple and accelerated development of Oikopleura, nevertheless giving rise to a conserved chordate body plan, is advantageous for studying developmental mechanisms using molecular and genetic approaches and makes this animal the simplest model organism in the phylum Chordata. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Amborella trichopoda</Emphasis>, plasmodesmata,and the evolution of phloem loading

Phloem loading is the process by which photoassimilates synthesized in the mesophyll cells of leaves enter the sieve elements and companion cells of minor veins in preparation for long distance transport to sink organs. Three loading strategies have been described: active loading from the apoplast, passive loading via the symplast, and passive symplastic transfer followed by polymer trapping of raffinose and stachyose. We studied phloem loading in Amborella trichopoda, a premontane shrub that may be sister to all other flowering plants. The minor veins of A. trichopoda contain intermediary cells, indicative of the polymer trap mechanism, forming an arc on the abaxial side and subtending a cluster of ordinary companion cells in the interior of the veins. Intermediary cells are linked to bundle sheath cells by highly abundant plasmodesmata whereas ordinary companion cells have few plasmodesmata, characteristic of phloem that loads from the apoplast. Intermediary cells, ordinary companion cells, and sieve elements form symplastically connected complexes. Leaves provided with ¹⁴CO₂ translocate radiolabeled sucrose, raffinose, and stachyose. Therefore, structural and physiological evidence suggests that both apoplastic and polymer trapping mechanisms of phloem loading operate in A. trichopoda. The evolution of phloem loading strategies is complex and may be difficult to resolve.     

Decision making in the NICU--strategies,statistics, and "satisficing"

As science progresses, new issues in bioethics grab the headlines, but in neonatal medicine communication and decision making for sick and premature infants is as important today as it was thirty years ago. Decisions have to be made and made well, despite suboptimal time, data, or knowledge. To this end, the authors propose good communication and a cooperative model as key to interpreting the best interest standard in a way that respects parental rights and responsibility and allows best interest to be decided from an amalgam of medical facts and human values.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">HrNodal</Emphasis>, the ascidian <Emphasis Type="Italic">nodal</Emphasis>-related gene,is expressed in the left side of the epidermis,and lies upstream of <Emphasis Type="Italic">HrPitx</Emphasis>

The nodal-related genes are well known for their fundamental roles during vertebrate development, including mesoderm induction, neural induction, and left-right axis formation, as several nodal-related genes show left-sided expression in mesodermal lineages. We have isolated the first non-vertebrate nodal-related gene, HrNodal, from the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi. During the late cleavage and gastrula stages, HrNodal is transiently and bilaterally expressed in several different cell lineages. Expression at the tailbud stage is observed asymmetrically in the left side, but unexpectedly only in the epidermis of the embryo. We also demonstrate the relationship of HrNodal with HrPitx, a Halocynthia homologue of the Pitx2 gene. HrNodal overexpression results in the disturbance of left-sided HrPitx expression. Our results demonstrate that left-right specification during ascidian embryogenesis involves the HrNodal gene, and that the left-sidedness of the expression is evolutionarily conserved throughout the chordate clade.