Factors affecting the survival of E. coli in a river

The relationships between physical, chemical and microbial characteristics of an aquatic ecosystem and the survival of E. coli have been studied. Two conditions of the ecosystem (warm and cold) are considered. T₉₀ (time necessary for 90% of a bacterial population to die) in the warm situation shows an inverse exponential relationship with water temperature. Besides the direct relationship temperature-T₉₀, there is an indirect effect of temperature upon T₉₀ through the natural microflora of the water. The relationships between temperature and the heterotrophic population, and between the heterotrophic population and the bacterial consumers (P.F.U.), are exponential and linear, respectively.     

民勤红砂岗地区绵刺分布和繁殖方式及濒危原因调查

本文调查了民勤红砂岗地区绵刺的分布现状和面积,初步观测了它的生活习性和繁殖方式,发现枝条生根是它的重要繁殖方式,并对绵刺濒危的原因和保护措施进行了讨论。     

Improved high-affinity binding of 3H-apomorphine with a subcellular membrane fraction of mammalian brain tissue

The binding of low concentrations of [³H](?)apomorphine to preparations of calf and rat forebrain tissue was evaluated. Fractionation of crude homogenates to prepare a membrane fraction (P₄) of striatal or caudate homogenates increased the proportion of saturable to total binding from 33% to over 80%, and increased the apparent density of binding sites from 94 to 681 fmol/mg protein. Binding in calf caudate P₄ tissue was protein-dependent and optimal at pH = 7.0 to 7.5, and T = 20 to 25°C; at higher temperatures tissue binding sites appeared to degrade. The half-time of association and dissociation at 22°C were, respectively, 14.0 and 18.5 min; equilibration was complete in 60 min. Kinetic characteristics of high-affinity binding obtained from association and dissociation constants and from saturation isotherms were similar (K_d = 2.1 to 3.4 nM). The pharmacology of competition for ³H-APO suggests selectivity for dopamine-agonist interactions. These results indicate that the P₄ membrane preparation may be useful for the evaluation of dopamine-agonist binding sites or “receptors.”     

Blood biochemical polymorphisms as markers for genetic characteristics of wild Spanish and domestic rabbits

Seventeen blood proteins were studied in a sample of 412 Spanish wild rabbits and in 598 domestic rabbits belonging to various breeds. The wild rabbit populations showed a high level of genetic polymorphism. Six loci were monomorphic, while the remaining ten loci were segregating for at least two alleles. Two of the loci that were polymorphic in the wild rabbits were monomorphic in the domestic ones. Wright's inbreeding coefficient in the total Spanish wild rabbit population was F=5.66, indicating subdivision of the total population. Inbreeding coefficients, estimated by Kidd et al.'s method (Anim. Blood Grps, Biochem. Genet. 11: 21–38), differed significantly from zero, being 15.62%, in wild rabbits and 6–12% in domestic breeds, indicating consanguinity.Genetic distances between wild rabbit populations showed that factors other than geographic distance (e.g., bottlenecks, barriers such as rivers, mountains, etc.) may explain the result that a northern population forms a cluster with two central populations whereas the northeastern populations form a different cluster with another central population. Populations of the first cluster are more closely related to the captive populations than others.There are three population clusters of domestic rabbits, namely (1) New Zealand White and a hybrid combination; (2) Spanish Common, Butterfly, Burgundy, and Californian; and (3) Spanish Giant.     

Effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">TFAR19</Emphasis> gene on the growth and biorheological properties of mouse erythroleukemia cell line MEL

Using the method of gene transfection with liposome, we obtained the mouse erythroleukemia cell line MEL-TF19, which stably carries TFAR19, a novel apoptosis-related gene. The expression of TFAR19 was detected by Western blot. Growth curve and flow cytometry analysis showed that after being transfected with TFAR19 gene, the growth of MEL-TF19 is suppressed and its apoptosis is accelerated because of the serum deprivation. Our biorheological study indicated that in the apoptotic process, compared with MEL cells, MEL-TF19 cells exhibit larger osmotic fragility, lower cell surface charge density, increased elastic modulus K1 which is inversely proportional to cells' maximal deformation ability, obviouslydiminished surface viscosity μ, with elastic modulus K2 having no distinct changes. The above results provided some bases for recognizing the function of TFAR19 completely from the viewpoint of biorheology.     

A unique error signature for human DNA polymerase nu

Human DNA polymerase nu (pol nu) is one of three A family polymerases conserved in vertebrates. Although its biological functions are unknown, pol nu has been implicated in DNA repair and in translesion DNA synthesis (TLS). Pol nu lacks intrinsic exonucleolytic proofreading activity and discriminates poorly against misinsertion of dNTP opposite template thymine or guanine, implying that it should copy DNA with low base substitution fidelity. To test this prediction and to comprehensively examine pol nu DNA synthesis fidelity as a clue to its function, here we describe human pol nu error rates for all 12 single base-base mismatches and for insertion and deletion errors during synthesis to copy the lacZ alpha-complementation sequence in M13mp2 DNA. Pol nu copies this DNA with average single-base insertion and deletion error rates of 7 x 10(-5) and 17 x 10(-5), respectively. This accuracy is comparable to that of replicative polymerases in the B family, lower than that of its A family homolog, human pol gamma, and much higher than that of Y family TLS polymerases. In contrast, the average single-base substitution error rate of human pol nu is 3.5 x 10(-3), which is inaccurate compared to the replicative polymerases and comparable to Y family polymerases. Interestingly, the vast majority of errors made by pol nu reflect stable misincorporation of dTMP opposite template G, at average rates that are much higher than for homologous A family members. This pol nu error is especially prevalent in sequence contexts wherein the template G is preceded by a C-G or G-C base pair, where error rates can exceed 10%. Amino acid sequence alignments based on the structures of more accurate A family polymerases suggest substantial differences in the O-helix of pol nu that could contribute to this unique error signature.     

石羊河下游民勤绿洲退耕地植被自然演替特征及物种多样性分析

采用重要值、Margalef物种丰富度指数、Shannon-wiener和Simpson多样性指数、Pielou和Alatalo均匀度指数对石羊河下游民勤绿洲不同年限退耕地自然恢复的植物群落进行了研究。结果表明:(1)石羊河下游民勤绿洲退耕地在50a自然恢复过程中共出现植物34种,14科,其中灌木6种,草本28种,分别占总物种数的17.65%和82.35%;藜科(8种)、禾本科(6种)、蒺藜科(4种)植物占总物种数的52.94%。(2)研究区退耕后50a植物群落演替经历为:田旋花→藜→苦苣菜→骆驼蒿→骆驼蓬→盐生草→黑果枸杞→红砂→盐爪爪的演替过程。(3)群落物种丰富度和多样性指数均随退耕时间的延长而呈现出波动式下降的变化趋势,而均匀度指数则呈现出在退耕初期(1～5a)先下降然后呈波动式上升的变化趋势。研究表明,随着退耕年限的增加,群落物种组成逐渐减少,植物群落演替向前发展的大致经历分为4个阶段:退耕1～5a为一年生草本和宿根植物迅速恢复阶段,退耕5～15a为一年生草本植物向多年生草本演替阶段,退耕15～30a为多年生草本向多年生灌木演替阶段,退耕30～50a为多年生灌木植物稳定阶段。     

Movement patterns of Antillean manatees in Chetumal Bay (Mexico) and coastal Belize: A challenge for regional conservation

Information from 15 satellite‐tracked Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) was analyzed in order to assess individual movements, home ranges, and high‐use areas for conservation decisions. Manatees were captured in Chetumal Bay, Mexico, and tagged with Argos‐monitored satellite transmitters. Location of the manatees and physical characteristics were assessed to describe habitat properties. Most manatees traveled to freshwater sources. The Maximum Area Size (MAS) for each manatee was determined using the observation‐area method. Additional kernel densities of 95% home range and 50% Center of Activity (COA) were also calculated, with manatees having 1–3 COAs. Manatees exhibited two different movement patterns: remaining in Chetumal Bay, and long‐distance (up to 240 km in 89 d). The residence time in Chetumal Bay was higher for females (89.6% of time) than for males (72.0%), but the daily travel rate (0.4–0.5 km/d) was similar for both sexes. Most of the COAs fell within Natural Protected Areas (NPA). However, manatees also travel for long distances into unprotected areas, where they face uncontrolled boat traffic, fishing activities, and habitat loss. Conservation of movement corridors may promote long‐distance movements and facilitate genetic exchange.     

The chondrichthyan fauna from the Middle-Late Triassic of Guanling (Guizhou province,SW China)

The Recent volutids Cymbiola and Melo burrow in a forward direction. This agrees well with the spiral terrace pattern observed in Eocene Volutidae, thus strengthening the idea that they were forward burrowers as well. The presence of collabral terraces near the aperture in the Cassidae suggests an oblique burrowing direction, by convergence with the Nassariidae. This is confirmed by observations on living cassids. The sutural canals and associated structures of the Olividae and Seraphidae are functional in detecting whether the posterior region of the shell is buried. This confirms the idea that fossil Strombidae possessing similar features were burrowers.

In contrast with these “predictable”; observations, burrowing was observed in a few gastropods the shell morphology of which would seem to exclude such behaviour, such as Architectonica, Cymatium, Volema and Bolinus. Thus, a few morphologic criteria appear to be reliable and of general applicability in inferring burrowing habits in gastropods. At the same time, the broad variety of burrowing mechanisms and life habits of gastropods makes it unlikely that general criteria will ever be found to exclude burrowing habits on the basis of shell morphology.