福建平潭岛海岸不同演化阶段草丛沙堆表面老鼠艻叶水势日变化特征

以福建省平潭岛海岸不同演化阶段草丛沙堆表面典型沙生植物老鼠艻为对象,研究其叶水势日变化特征及其影响因素.结果表明: 老鼠艻叶水势日变化以“W”型为主,午间出现短暂升高现象.发育阶段沙堆表面老鼠艻叶水势日均值较稳定阶段高,且夜间水分恢复能力更强;老鼠艻叶水势与大气水势和相对湿度呈显著正相关,与气温呈显著负相关,但与不同深度土壤水势无显著相关性;发育阶段沙堆丘间地老鼠艻叶水势在10:00—16:00皆高于迎风坡和背风坡,迎风坡除10:00和12:00外皆低于背风坡.不同坡位叶水势日变异程度表现为背风坡>迎风坡>丘间地,但无显著差异.沙堆迎风坡老鼠艻叶水势与大气水势和相对湿度呈显著正相关,与气温呈显著负相关;沙堆背风坡和丘间地老鼠艻叶水势与气象因子有一定相关性,但不显著.     

五步蛇各组织常、微量元素的功能作用探讨

目的探究五步蛇养殖方法和防止蕲蛇药材造假提供参考。方法采用等离子发射光谱仪对各检测溶液进行常、微量元素含量测定,对比分析五步蛇(Deinagkistrodon acutus)的肝、骨、肉、皮等组织的常、微量元素数据。结果五步蛇不同组织常、微量元素含量差异显著,P、K、Ca、Mg、Zn均占元素总量的绝大部分。结论不同种蛇相同组织常、微量元素整体趋势相似,与其组织功能和捕食环境可能有很大关系。     

荒漠草原典型群落土壤粒径和养分的分布特征及其关系研究

为了明确荒漠草原区土壤机械组成与养分的关系,以宁夏盐池荒漠草原4种典型群落为研究对象,通过对不同群落(柠条、沙蒿、蒙古冰草、短花针茅)表层(0~5cm)、亚表层(5~10cm)和深层(10~15cm)土壤粒径分布分形(PSD)、养分含量的动态变化分析,揭示荒漠草原区土壤结构与土壤养分的相关性。结果表明:(1)4种典型群落土壤PSD均呈正态分布,不同群落间的土壤PSD差异显著,粒径100~500μm颗粒含量对PSD影响最大,不同群落间的差异大于不同生境间或不同土层间。(2)4种典型群落除全磷(TP)外,其余土壤全肥均随土壤深度增加呈降低趋势,且冠下大于丛间,表现出荒漠草原区特殊的"肥岛"聚集效应,不同群落间分布特征均表现为:柠条短花针茅蒙古冰草沙蒿,速效养分含量相对较高,各群落均达到适宜水平。(3)土壤养分与土壤PSD显著相关,除速效磷(AP)外,其余土壤养分与土壤分形维数(D)均呈正相关关系,粒径100~250μm、250~500μm颗粒与土壤养分呈显著或极显著负相关关系,土壤中的黏粒、粉粒在有机无机胶结过程及土壤良好的结构维持中起主要作用。     

Angupyrones A – E, α‐Pyrone Analogues with ARE‐Activation from a Sponge‐Associated Fungus Truncatella angustata

TLC‐DPPH guided fractionation of a sponge‐associated fungus Truncatella angustata with a solid culture resulted in the isolation of five new α‐pyrone‐based analogues namely angupyrones A – E ( 1  –  5 ), and 3‐ethyl‐4‐hydroxy‐6‐methyl‐2‐pyrone. Their structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses, including the modified Mosher's method, bulkiness rule, and specific rotation for the configurational assignments. Angupyrones A – E exhibited moderate antioxidant response element activation in HepG2C8 cells, while the preliminary structure‐activity relationship was discussed.     

Mesenchymal stromal cells ameliorate acute allergic rhinitis in rats

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been extensively investigated as a potential antiinflammatory treatment in many inflammatory‐related diseases; however, it remains unclear whether MSCs could be used to treat acute allergic rhinitis. A rat model of allergic rhinitis was treated with MSCs. The effect of MSCs on the inflammation of allergic rhinitis was evaluated by sneezing, nose rubbing, the pathology of the nasal mucosa, and the expression of interleukin 4, tumour necrosis factor alpha, and immunoglobulin E in the serum of rats. Also, the population of MSCs isolated from umbilical cords of humans was evaluated to determine if they could inhibit the symptoms and inflammation of acute allergic rhinitis in a rat model. We observed that this population of cells inhibited sneezing, nose rubbing, and changes in the pathology of the nasal mucosa. Intriguingly, we observed that MSCs reduced the expression of interleukin 4, tumour necrosis factor alpha, and immunoglobulin E in the serum. Furthermore, MSCs reduced the expression of histamine and the recruitment of macrophages in the nasal mucosa of allergic rhinitis rats. We reasoned that the effect of MSCs on allergic rhinitis might be through its regulation of the secretion of related cytokines from macrophages during the process of acute allergic rhinitis. This work suggested that MSCs from the umbilical cords of humans could be used as a positive clinical therapy for the human disease.     

Intensified wind pollination mediated by pollen dimorphism after range expansion in an ambophilous biennial Aconitum gymnandrum

Pollination systems and associated floral traits generally differ between core and marginal populations of a species. However, such differences are rarely examined in plants with a mixed wind‐ and bumblebee‐pollination system, and the role of wind pollination during range expansion in ambophilous plants remains unclear. We compared floral traits and the contributions of bumblebee and wind pollination in refugium and marginal populations of the ambophilous plant Aconitum gymnandrum. We found that most floral traits differed between the two populations, and those traits associated with the shift to wind pollination were pronounced in the marginal population. Bumblebee visitation rates varied significantly, but were generally low in the marginal population. Wind pollination occurred in both populations, and the efficiency was lower than that of bumblebee pollination. Two types of pollen grains, namely round and fusiform pollen, were transported to a stigma by bumblebees and wind, but fusiform pollen contributed to wind pollination to a larger degree, especially in the marginal population. Our results suggest that wind pollination was enhanced by pollen dimorphism in the marginal population of A. gymnandrum, and wind pollination may provide reproductive assurance when bumblebee activity is unpredictable during range expansion, indicating that ambophily is stable in this species and shift in pollination system could be common when plants colonize new habitats.     

Cross‐sectional relations of whole‐blood miRNA expression levels and hand grip strength in a community sample

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression with emerging data suggesting miRNAs play a role in skeletal muscle biology. We sought to examine the association of miRNAs with grip strength in a community‐based sample. Framingham Heart Study Offspring and Generation 3 participants (n = 5668 54% women, mean age 55 years, range 24, 90 years) underwent grip strength measurement and miRNA profiling using whole blood from fasting morning samples. Linear mixed‐effects regression modeling of grip strength (kg) versus continuous miRNA ‘Cq’ values and versus binary miRNA expression was performed. We conducted an integrative miRNA–mRNA coexpression analysis and examined the enrichment of biologic pathways for the top miRNAs associated with grip strength. Grip strength was lower in women than in men and declined with age with a mean 44.7 (10.0) kg in men and 26.5 (6.3) kg in women. Among 299 miRNAs interrogated for association with grip strength, 93 (31%) had FDR q value < 0.05, 54 (18%) had an FDR q value < 0.01, and 15 (5%) had FDR q value < 0.001. For almost all miRNA–grip strength associations, increasing miRNA concentration is associated with increasing grip strength. miR‐20a‐5p (FDR q 1.8 × 10^?6) had the most significant association and several among the top 15 miRNAs had links to skeletal muscle including miR‐126‐3p, miR‐30a‐5p, and miR‐30d‐5p. The top associated biologic pathways included metabolism, chemokine signaling, and ubiquitin‐mediated proteolysis. Our comprehensive assessment in a community‐based sample of miRNAs in blood associated with grip strength provides a framework to further our understanding of the biology of muscle strength.     

A comparative study of the effects of abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate on seedling growth of rice

The effects of abscisic acid (ABA) and methyl jasmonate (MJ) on growth of rice seedlings were compared. The lowest tested concentration of ABA and MJ that inhibited seedling growth was found to be 4.5 and 0.9 µM, respectively. Growth inhibition by ABA is reversible, whereas that by MJ is irreversible. GA₃ was found to be more effective in reversing inhibition of shoot growth by ABA than by MJ. KCl partially relieved MJ-inhibited, but not ABA-inhibited, growth of rice seedlings. The beneficial effect of K⁺ on growth of rice seedlings in MJ medium could not be replaced by Li⁺, Na⁺ or Cs⁺. MJ treatment caused a marked release of K⁺ into the medium. In order to understand whether cell wall-bound peroxidase activity was inversely related to rice seedling growth, effects of ABA and MJ on cell wall-bound peroxidase activity were also examined. Results indicated that both ABA and MJ increased cell wall-bound peroxidase activity in roots and shoots of rice seedlings. Although MJ (4.5 µM) was less effective in inhibiting root growth than ABA (9 µM), MJ was found to increase more cell wall-bound peroxidase activity in roots than ABA.