家兔半慢性“孤立脑”制备的睡眠-觉醒周期

高位胸髓横断(T_1或 T_2)和切断双侧臂丛的“孤立脑”家兔可以长期维持自主腹式呼吸。此制备的睡眠-觉醒周期可明确地分为四个时相,即觉醒期、慢波浅醒期、慢波深睡期和快眼动睡眠期。与正常家兔的睡眠周期相比,此制备的周期持续时间大为缩短,深睡期和快眼动睡眠期明显减少。     

区域气温和降水对关帝山不同海拔华北落叶松径向生长的耦合效应

为揭示区域气温和降水在不同海拔对山地林区林木径向生长的耦合效应,在关帝山林区孝文林场和庞泉沟国家自然保护区外围4个不同海拔选取立地条件相似的华北落叶松(Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr.)人工林设置调查样地,采集典型样木样芯,采用建立年表的方法,获取年轮宽度指数,结合区域气温和降水进行相关性分析和单年分析。结果表明:在研究地区4个海拔上华北落叶松的径向生长均与区域气温和降水量有密切关系,但不同海拔响应机制不同;在1600 m海拔处,年轮宽度指数与当年4月气温极显著负相关,与当年9月降水量显著正相关;在1800 m海拔处,年轮宽度指数与上年6月气温显著负相关,降水量显著正相关;在2000 m海拔处,年轮宽度指数与当年9月气温和当年3月降水量显著负相关;在海拔2200 m处,年轮宽度指数与上年8月气温显著正相关,降水量显著负相关;随着海拔的升高,气温逐渐降低,降水量增加,两者对华北落叶松径向生长的耦合效应也发生变化,当海拔到达2000 m时,生长季降水量的增加使耦合效应关系发生转换。     

Invasion of natural and agricultural cranberry bogs by introduced and native plants

Plant species invasions, i.e., the entry of additional plant species into a habitat with negative effects on species already there, are a major ecological problem in natural habitats and a major economic problem in agricultural habitats. Nutrient availability, disturbance, and proximity to other habitats are likely factors that may interact to control invasion in both types of habitat. We hypothesized (1) that elevated nutrient availability can promote the abundance of introduced species even when high cover of the existing plant community is maintained, and (2) that higher levels of invasion on the edges than in the interiors of habitats are due to differences in resource availability between edges and interiors. To test these hypotheses, we measured soil characteristics and the abundances of plant species in natural and agricultural cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) bogs in southeastern Massachusetts. Contrary to the first hypothesis, agricultural bogs did not have higher cover or richness of introduced species than natural bogs, despite having higher levels of soil nutrients. Contrary to the second hypothesis, the edges of both agricultural and natural bogs had a higher cover and richness of introduced species than the interiors, even though only natural bogs showed differences in resource availabilities between edges and interiors. Results suggest that having a high cover of existing species can counter positive effects of elevated nutrients on the spread of introduced and non-crop species. However, maintaining similar resource availabilities on the edges and interiors of habitats may not prevent greater invasion of edges. Avoiding disturbances to natural communities, maintaining high crop cover, and focusing active control of introduced or non-crop species on the edges of habitats could help limit plant invasions into natural and agricultural habitats alike.     

Effects of fragmentation of clones compound over vegetative generations in the floating plant Pistia stratiotes

Background and AimsClonal plants dominate many plant communities, especially in aquatic systems, and clonality appears to promote invasiveness and to affect how diversity changes in response to disturbance and resource availability. Understanding how the special physiological and morphological properties of clonal growth lead to these ecological effects depends upon studying the long-term consequences of clonal growth properties across vegetative generations, but this has rarely been done. This study aimed to show how a key clonal property, physiological integration between connected ramets within clones, affects the response of clones to disturbance and resources in an aquatic, invasive, dominant species across multiple generations.MethodsSingle, parental ramets of the floating stoloniferous plant Pistia stratiotes were grown for 3 weeks, during which they produced two or three generations of offspring; connections between new ramets were cut or left intact. Individual offspring were then used as parents in a second 3-week iteration that crossed fragmentation with previous fragmentation in the first iteration. A third iteration yielded eight treatment combinations, zero to three rounds of fragmentation at different times in the past. The experiment was run once at a high and once at a low level of nutrients.ResultsIn each iteration, fragmentation increased biomass of the parental ramet, decreased biomass of the offspring and increased number of offspring. These effects persisted and compounded from one iteration to another, though more recent fragmentation had stronger effects, and were stronger at the low than at the high nutrient level. Fragmentation did not affect net accumulation of mass by groups after one iteration but increased it after two iterations at low nutrients, and after three iterations at both nutrient levels.ConclusionsBoth the positive and negative effects of fragmentation on clonal performance can compound and persist over time and can be stronger when resource levels are lower. Even when fragmentation has no short-term net effect on clonal performance, it can have a longer-term effect. In some cases, fragmentation may increase total accumulation of mass by a clone. The results provide the first demonstration of how physiological integration in clonal plants can affect fitness across generations and suggest that increased disturbance may promote invasion of introduced clonal species via effects on integration, perhaps especially at lower nutrient levels.     

Why does the hoverfly Metasyrphus corollae migrate?

Abstract. 1. Migration pattern and mass appearance of the hoverfly Metasyrphus corollae (F.) (Diptera, Syrphidae) were investigated on the SE coast of Sweden in 1981. In total, 4433 hoverflies, belonging to fifteen species, were collected in water traps during 4–6 August. All but 2.2% were M.corollae , 3282 specimens being caught on 4 August, 1021 on 5 August and thirty-five on 6 August.
2. The sex ratios ( ♂/♀ ) on these dates were 1/1.6, 1/1.3 and 1/1.7. The average dry weights did not significantly differ between sexes (males 4.01 mg, females 4.02 mg).
3. M.corollae females were reproductively immature.
4. Females mostly had Senecio pollen in their guts while males mainly had Rubus pollen. The average number of pollen grains per specimen was 210 for females and 1100 for males.
5. In the summer 1980 aphids were numerous, forming a basis for a high abundance of adult hoverflies (with hibernating larvae) in 1981. Aphid density in 1981 was low and stimuli inducing egglaying were sparse. It is suggested that this pattern of aphid abundance triggers migration in M.corollae and in other aphidophagous species at irregular intervals.     

APOPTOSIS,REDIFFERENTIATION AND ARRESTING PROLIFERATION SIMULTANEOUSLY TRIGGERED BY OXIDATIVE STRESS IN HUMAN HEPATOMA CELLS

The effects of oxidative stress (ascorbic acid—ferrous system) on the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of the human hepatoma cell SMMC-7721 were studied. Oxidative stress significantly inhibited cell proliferation and induced morphological differentiation. Whatever the indices related with cell malignancy, such as α-fetoprotein and c-glutamyltranspeptidase or the index related with cell differentiation, such as tyrosine-α-ketoglutarate transaminase, all inclined evidently to normalization. The tumour's clonogenic potential decreased significantly. Moreover, together with differentiation, the phenomenon of apoptosis was found by the appearance of apoptotic bodies, detached cells, and apoptotic morphological feature. Although, their DNA was not degraded into oligonucleosomal fragmentation, the DNA was cut into larger fragments (about 21.2kbp) of a size associated with chromatin loops. These findings indicated that oxidative stress can induce both differentiation and apoptosis simultaneously in tumour cells. All the results showed that oxidative stress may initiate the tumour cells reverse transformation. The possible mechanism of the differentiation and apoptosis induced by oxidative stress may be related to the lipid peroxidation of cell membrane.     

EXTRA-ECTODERMAL STRANDS IN THE CILIATED BANDS OF THE ECHINOPLUTEUS

An ectodermal nerve net and some extra-ectodermal, axon-like elements have been demonstrated in the ciliated bands of Psammechinus miliaris larvae. It is proposed that these extraectodermal structures, together with the microvillous epithelial cells and the ectodermal nerves, participate in the co-ordination of responses on sensory stimulation from the outside of the larvae.