嘌呤拟似物对豚鼠胃窦环行肌自发性收缩及电活动的影响

为探讨非肾上腺素能非胆碱能神经递质对胃窦环行肌功能的调节作用,在离体胃平滑肌上观察了嘌呤拟似物对胃窦环行肌自发性收缩活动和电活动的影响。电活动用传统的细胞内微电极记录,并和收缩活动同步描记于多道生理记录仪。结果表明,嘌呤能P2Y受体激动剂,三磷酸腺苷(ATP)和2-methylthio ATP(2-MeSATP)均增强胃窦平滑肌的收缩活动,但不影响电活动,而且ATP和2-MeSATP对胃平滑肌收缩活动的增强作用可被嘌呤能P2Y受体阻断剂,reactive blue-2和苏拉明(suramin)所阻断。用100μmol／L α,β-MeATP引起的脱敏感使P2X受体被阻断,ATP增强胃窦平滑肌收缩活动的效应不受影响。嘌呤能P2X受体激动剂,α,β-MeATP明显抑制胃窦环行肌自发性收缩活动,同时使膜电位明显超极化。ATP对胃窦平滑肌的收缩作用不被L型钙通道阻断剂尼卡地平(nicardipine)阻断,但细胞外用无钙液灌流时这种效应则完全被阻断。用前列腺素合成抑制剂消炎痛预先处理20min后,ATP和2-MeSATP仍能增强胃窦平滑肌的自发性收缩活动。以上结果提示：(1)ATP和2-MeSATP通过嘌呤能P2Y受体增强胃窦平滑肌的自发性收缩活动,而α,β-MeATP或β,γ-MeATP通过嘌呤能P2X受体使膜电位超极化,引起胃窦平滑肌的舒张;(2)ATP和2-MeSATP增强胃窦平滑肌自发性收缩活动的效应依赖于细胞外钙,但钙离子进入细胞的途径并不是电压依赖性钙通道;(3)ATP和2-MeSATP增强胃窦平滑肌自发性收缩活动的效应不通过前列腺素介导。     

Soil Diversity and Land Use in the United States

Soils are dynamic components of terrestrial ecosystems that historically have been viewed as economic resources by government and private interests. The large-scale conversion of many sections of the United States to agriculture and urban land uses, combined with the growing awareness of the role of soils in global biogeochemistry and ecology, ultimately requires an assessment of the remaining distribution of undisturbed soils in the country. Here we conduct the first quantitative analysis of disturbed and undisturbed soil distribution in the USA using a GIS-based approach. We find that a sizable fraction (4.5%) of the nation's soils are in danger of substantial loss, or complete extinction, due to agriculture and urbanization. In the agricultural belt of the country, up to 80% of the soils that were naturally of low abundance are now severely impacted (greater than 50% conversion to agricultural/urban uses). Undisturbed soils provide ecosystem services that warrant their preservation, including a somewhat complex relationship with rare or endangered plants. The known and unknown attributes of undisturbed soils suggests the need for an integrated biogeodiversity perspective in landscape preservation efforts.     

利用假型反转录病毒对大部分胰腺切除后再生细胞的世系追踪

胰腺是一个重要的内外分泌混合腺, 胰腺发生损伤后能够再生。为了探讨胰腺活体细胞世系追踪的方法和胰腺损伤后再生细胞的来源,分别通过胰腺伤口涂抹并胰内注射、尾静脉注射及腹腔注射三种方法, 利用假型反转录病毒对成体小鼠大部分切除后胰腺的细胞进行世系追踪。结果发现在活体条件下, 与尾静脉注射及腹腔注射法相比, 胰腺伤口涂抹并胰腺内注射反转录病毒的方法能够更有效的标记胰腺细胞; 而且, 通过对标记细胞的世系追踪研究证明, 在胰腺损伤后, 胰腺腺泡细胞能够接受损伤信号刺激发生再生。为今后进一步利用反转录假病毒对活体胰腺进行细胞命运追踪研究奠定基础, 为利用反转录病毒载体进行胰腺疾病的基因治疗提供线索。     

施肥措施对鳄嘴花(Clinacanthus nutans)生物量的影响

通过施肥措施对鳄嘴花[Clinacanthus nutans(Burm. f.) Lindau]生物量分配的影响研究得到,鳄嘴花各构件生物量与各构件生物量的分配比例并不总是一致。N肥处理组根茎叶以及总生物量均较K低。P肥则为处理4根茎叶以及总生物量较大。而K肥根茎生物量较大的均为处理5,叶和总生物量较大的则为处理4。有机肥的施肥效果对鳄嘴花各构件生物量的促进效果均较差。施肥配比中,各个施肥配比对根、茎生物量的增加效果均较差。叶和总生物量中,则为N1∶P1∶K1效果较好。总体来看,合理施肥对鳄嘴花生物量的增加有促进作用,对生物量的分配产生一定的影响。     

Fe- and S-Metabolizing Microbial Communities Dominate an AMD-Contaminated River Ecosystem and Play Important Roles in Fe and S Cycling

Indigenous Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria play important roles both in the formation and the natural attenuation of acid mine drainage (AMD). Due to its low pH and Fe-S-rich waters, a river located in the Dabaoshan Mine area provides an ideal opportunity to study indigenous Fe- and S-metabolizing microbial communities and their roles in biogeochemical Fe and S cycling. In this work, water and sediment samples were collected from the river for physicochemical, mineralogical, and microbiological analyses. Illumina MiSeq sequencing indicated higher species richness in the sediment than in the water. Sequencing also found that Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria were the dominant microorganisms in the heavily and moderately contaminated areas. Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria found in the water were aerobes or facultative anaerobes, including Acidithiobacillus, Acidiphilium, Thiomonas, Gallionella, and Leptospirillum. Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria found in the sediment belong to microaerobes, facultative anaerobes, or obligatory anaerobes, including Acidithiobacillus, Sulfobacillus, Thiomonas, Gallionella, Geobacter, Geothrix, and Clostridium. Among the dominant genera in the sediment, Geobacter and Geothrix were rarely detected in AMD-contaminated natural environments. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that pH, S, and Fe concentration gradients were the most important factors in structuring the river microbial community. Moreover, a scheme explaining the biogeochemical Fe and S cycling is advanced in light of the Fe and S species distribution and the identified Fe- and S-metabolizing bacteria.     

Preliminary results on nematicidal activity from culture filtrates of Basidiomycetes against the pine wood nematode,Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Aphelenchoididae)

One hundred and eighty one fungal species that were isolated from the fresh fruiting bodies collected in the Mountains of Pu Er County of Yunnan Province, China were tested on the pine wood nematode,Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in vitro. Each fungal species was grown in Czapek broth and potato dextrose broth (PDB). Fifteen filtrates fromAmauroderma austrosinense, Amauroderma macer, Filoboletus sp.,Laccaria tortilis, Lactarius gerardii, Lentinula edodes, Oudemansiella longipes, Oudemansiella mucida, Peziza sp.,Pleurotus sp.,Sinotermitomyces carnosus (two strains),Strobilomyces floccopus, Termitomyces albuminosus, Tylopilus striatulus grown on PDB were found to be pathogenic to the tested nematodes. Eleven filtrates fromAmanita junguillea, Amanita sp.,Daedalea sepiaria, Fistulina hepatica, Omphalotus olearius, Oudemansiella mucida, Peziza sp.,Pleurotus pulmatus, Ramaria sp.,Tricholoma conglobatum, Tylopilus striatulus grown on Czapek broth were also pathogenic to the nematodes. When screening for nematicidal potential of fungi, it is important to study the growth medium conditions necessary to obtain the optimal nematicidal effect as fungal filtrates growing on different liquid media showed a very inconsistent toxicity towards nematodes.     

Influenza A virus-binding activity of glycoglycerolipids of aquatic bacteria

As the aqueous sphere has been proposed to be an important source medium for the virus infection of land animals, the glycolipids of some aquatic organisms were examined for human influenza A virus-binding activity. Active compounds were not found among the eight echinoderm gangliosides, but two active non-sialylated glycoglycerolipids were isolated from an aquatic bacterium, Corynebacterium aquaticum. The structural formula of one of them, H632A, was elucidated to be 1-14-methyl-hexadecanoyl-3-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-->3)-6-(12-met hyl-tetradecanoyl)-1-alpha-D-mannopyranosyl]-sn-glycerol. The latter together with reported one elsewhere, S365A, 1-14-methyl-hexadecanoyl-3-[alpha-D-mannopyranosyl-(1-->3)-6-(12-meth yl-tetradecanoyl)-1-alpha-D-mannopyranosyl]-sn-glycerol, apparently bound to three human influenza viruses, A/PR/8/34 (H1N1), A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2), and A/Memphis/1/71 (H3N2), exhibiting 7-12% (H632A) and 10-22% (S365A) of the activities of the control substances (Neu5Acalpha2-3-paragloboside and Neu5Acalpha2-6- paragloboside). Additionally, these glycolipids were assumed to have virus-neutralizing activities for the following two reasons: (i) The hemagglutination and hemolysis activities of the viruses were inhibited by the glycolipid. (ii) The leakage of a cytosolic enzyme (lactate dehydrogenase) from Madin-Darby canine kidney cells on virus infection was prevented by the glycolipids to nearly the same extent as by fetuin. This is the first evidence of the binding- and neutralizing-abilities of native glycoglycerolipids as to influenza viruses.     

Sensory cues for the gradual frequency fall responses of the gymnotiform electric fish, Rhamphichthys rostratus

The sensory cues for a less known form of frequency shifting behavior, gradual frequency falls, of electric organ discharges (EODs) in a pulse-type gymnotiform electric fish, Rhamphichthys rostratus, were identified. We found that the gradual frequency fall occurs independently of more commonly observed momentary phase shifting behavior, and is due to perturbation of sensory feedback of the fish's own EODs by EODs of neighboring fish. The following components were identified as essential features in the signal mixture of the fish's own and the neighbor's EOD pulses: (1) the neighbor's pulses must be placed within a few millisecond of the fish's own pulses, (2) the neighbor's pulses, presented singly at low frequencies (0.2–4 Hz), were sufficient, (3) the frequency of individual pulse presentation must be below 4 Hz, (4) amplitude modulation of the sensory feedback of the fish's own pulses induced by such insertions of the neighbor's pulses must contain a high frequency component: sinusoidal amplitude modulation of the fish's own EOD feedback at these low frequencies does not induce gradual frequency falls. Differential stimulation across body surfaces, which is required for the jamming avoidance response (JAR) of wave-type gymnotiform electric fish, was not necessary for this behavior. We propose a cascade of high-pass and low-pass frequency filters within the amplitude processing pathway in the central nervous system as the mechanism of the gradual frequency fall response.Abbreviations EOD electric organ discharge - f frequency of EOD or pacemaker command signal - JAR jamming avoidance response - S ₁ stimulus mimicking fish's own EOD - f ₁ frequency of S₁ - S ₂ stimulus mimicking neighbor's EOD - f ₂ frequency of S₂