High apex predator biomass on remote Pacific islands

On coral reefs in Palmyra—a central Pacific atoll with limited fishing pressure—total fish biomass was 428 and 299% greater than on reefs in nearby Christmas and Fanning Islands. Large apex predators, groupers, sharks, snappers, and jacks larger than 50 cm in length, accounted for 56% of total fish biomass in Palmyra on average, but only 7 and 3% on Christmas and Fanning. These biomass proportions are remarkably similar to those previously reported for the remote and uninhabited Northwest Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and densely populated Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), although Palmyra’s reefs are dominated in biomass by sharks (44% of the total), whereas the NWHI by jacks (39%). Herbivorous fish biomass was also greater on Palmyra than on Christmas and Fanning (343 and 207%, respectively). These results and previous findings indicate that remote, uninhabited islands support high levels of consumers, and highlight the importance of healthy coral reef ecosystems as reference points for assessment of human impacts and establishment of restoration goals.     

An improved delta-centralization method for population stratification

Dadd et al. [Hum Hered 2010;69:285-294] recently criticized our delta-centralization (DC) method of controlling for population stratification (PS) and concluded that DC does not work. To explore our method, the authors simulated data under the Balding-Nichols (BN) model, which is more general than the model we had used in our simulations. They determined that the DC method underestimated the PS parameter (δ) and inflated the type I error rates when applied to BN-simulated data, and from this they concluded that the DC method is invalid. However, we argue that this conclusion is premature. In this paper, we (1) show why δ is underestimated and type I error rates are inflated when BN-simulated data are used, and (2) present a simple adjustment to DC that works reasonably well for data from both kinds of simulations. We also show that the adjusted DC method has appropriate power under a range of scenarios.     

钩吻(Gelsemium elegans)生物碱结构类型增补探讨

根据对亚洲钩吻(Gelsemium elegans)的化学研究结果,探讨将已知5种生物碱骨架类型扩展为9种,其中新增补并命名为Geleboline-type,Gelselegine-type,Gelsemamide-type,以及首次报道在亚洲钩吻中得到的Yohimbane-type类型。     

平地无风条件下蒙古栎阔叶床层的火行为Ⅲ.火线强度、可燃物消耗和燃烧效率分析及预测模型

以东北地区针阔混交林重要建群种和伴生种蒙古栎为对象,在平地无风条件下进行室内点烧试验,分析含水率、载量和厚度对蒙古栎凋落叶床层火线强度、消耗量和燃烧效率的影响,并对相关模型进行了验证.结果表明: 含水率、载量和床层厚度对蒙古栎凋落叶床层火线强度、消耗量和燃烧效率均有显著影响,并且3个指标之间存在交互作用.在已有模型中,Byram模型需参数调整后方可用于本地凋落叶可燃物,其重新估计的α、β拟合值分别为98.009和1.099,得到的预测值均方根误差为8.676 kW·m^-1,平均相对误差为21.0%, R²为0.745.对Albini提出的燃烧效率模型参数a、b的重新估计值分别为0.069和0.169,得到的预测值均在93.0%以上,绝大多数偏高.Consume模型适用性较强.新建立的火线强度、消耗量和燃烧效率的一般线性模型调整后的R²分别为0.82、0.73和0.53,均方根误差分别为8.266 kW·m^-1、0.081 kg·m^-2和0.203.在低强度地表火中,细小可燃物可能不会被完全消耗,现有一些系统中将凋落叶和细小可燃物按全部消耗处理,将高估碳的释放量.     

不同基质栽培的药用鲍姆桑黄孔菌体外抗肿瘤活性的比较研究

比较3种不同栽培技术的鲍姆桑黄孔菌Sanghuangporus baumii——3年生栎树段木鲍姆桑黄孔菌、桑枝代料鲍姆桑黄孔菌和发酵鲍姆桑黄孔菌中多糖、总酚、黄酮及总三萜含量和体外抗肿瘤活性。分别采用硫酸-蒽酮、福林-酚、亚硝酸-硝酸铝和香草醛-冰醋酸法对4种主要成分进行含量测定。选用人大细胞肺癌细胞（H460）、人前列腺癌细胞（PC3）、人乳腺癌细胞（MDA-MB-231）、人肝癌细胞（SMMC-7721和BEL-7402）和人神经母细胞瘤细胞（SH-SY5Y）为待检细胞株,采用CCK-8检测细胞活力。结果显示,发酵鲍姆桑黄孔菌多糖含量最高（29.64%）,代料鲍姆桑黄孔菌和3年生段木鲍姆桑黄孔菌多糖含量均低于2.57%;2种代料鲍姆桑黄孔菌的总酚和黄酮含量较高,而发酵鲍姆桑黄孔菌最低（0.24%和0.68%）,尤其是代料鲍姆桑黄孔菌1号的总酚和黄酮含量高达4.02%和32.13%;三萜含量在4种栽培法的鲍姆桑黄孔菌中差异不明显。体外对6种肿瘤细胞增殖抑制能力最强的均为代料鲍姆桑黄孔菌,其IC₅₀值最低,其次是3年生段木鲍姆桑黄孔菌,发酵鲍姆桑黄孔菌在本研究设置的浓度范围内无明显的细胞毒性。结果表明：不同栽培方式鲍姆桑黄孔菌产生体外抗肿瘤活性不同,代料鲍姆桑黄孔菌最强,其次是3年生段木鲍姆桑黄孔菌,发酵鲍姆桑黄孔菌活性最差,这种活性差异与其有效成分含量高低直接相关;鲍姆桑黄孔菌发挥抗肿瘤活性的物质基础主要是总酚和黄酮。     

Overview of sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus mortality events in the Adriatic Sea, 1555–2009

• 1 In the Mediterranean Sea, the sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus is one of eight regular cetacean species. Poor knowledge of its ecology and status, together with suspected decline in numbers, make studies of historical and present occurrence especially relevant. Long‐term time series of stranding events are the most reliable data to provide a scientific framework for testing hypotheses that seek to explain the mechanisms responsible for cetacean strandings.
• 2 We present a comprehensive overview of cases of sperm whale mortality and human response to such events encompassing five centuries (1555–2009) within a portion of the Mediterranean Sea that offers a wealth of historical information – the Adriatic Sea.
• 3 A total of 36 mortality events were validated, involving 68 animals. Two findings of skeletal materials are also reported. The geographic distribution of strandings within the basin clearly was uneven: 44% of records (n = 16) were clustered along a 280km portion of the western Adriatic coast. A relatively high number of mortality events occurred along gently sloping sandy beaches away from suitable sperm whale habitat.
• 4 Until the first half of the 20th century, live‐stranded animals were routinely killed: all but one cases with known human response elicited killing attempts. Starting from the 1980s, killing was replaced by efforts to rescue the animals.
• 5 Mass strandings of sperm whales have occurred since historical times in the Adriatic Sea. Mortality events involving multiple individuals accounted for at least 17% of the total sample (6 of 36 mortality events). At least 29% of live strandings (6 of 21) involved more than one individual.
• 6 This study contributes a long‐term dataset based on careful validation of historical information, suitable for hypothesis testing aimed at investigating spatial and temporal correlates of sperm whale strandings – particularly live strandings – as a clue to their causes.