Monitoring vegetation recovery after China’s May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake using Landsat TM time-series data: a case study in Mao County

The Wenchuan earthquake (Richter scale 8) on 12 May 2008 in southwestern China caused widespread ecosystem damage in the Longmenshan area. It is important to evaluate natural vegetation recovery processes and provide basic information on ecological aspects of the recovering environment after the earthquake. To circumvent the weather limits of remote sensing in the Wenchuan earthquake-hit areas, and to meet the need for regional observation analyses, three Landsat TM images pre- and post-earthquake in Mao County were used for analysis. Post-earthquake normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values were compared to pre-earthquake values with an NDVI-based index differencing method to determine the extent to which the vegetation was damaged in relation to the pre-earthquake pattern, and the rate of recovery was evaluated. The spatial characteristics of vegetation loss and natural recovery patterns were analyzed in relation to elevation, slope and aspect. The results indicated that severely damaged sites occurred mainly in river valleys, within a range of 1,500?C2,500?m elevation and on slopes of 25?C55°. The distance from rivers, rather than the distance from active faults, controls the damage patterns. After 1?year of natural regeneration, 36?% of the destroyed areas showed a decrease in NDVI value, 28.8?% showed very little change, 19.1?% showed an increase, and 16.1?% also increased with a recovery rate greater than 100?%. Moreover, there is a good correlation between recovery rate and both slope and elevation, but recovery patterns in the damaged area are complicated. Our results indicate that natural recovery in this arid valley is a slow process.     

The inhibitory effect of BSP-A1/-A2 on protein kinase C and tyrosine protein kinase

Bovine seminal plasma contains a group of similar proteins, namely BSP-A1, BSP-A2, BSP-A3, and BSP-30-kDa (collectively called BSP proteins), and they are secreted by the seminal vesicles. In our study, we purified the BSP-A1/-A2 through affinity chromatography and found for the first time that BSP-A1/-A2 can inhibit the activity of protein kinase C (PKC) and tyrosine protein kinase (TPK). The inhibition was dose dependent. When the PKC and TPK activities are expressed as the logarithm of percentage activity taking the activity in the absence of the BSP-A1/-A2 as 100%, there is a linear relationship between the their activities and the dose of BSP-A1/-A2.     

Imaging and measuring the rituximab-induced changes of mechanical properties in B-lymphoma cells using atomic force microscopy

The topography and mechanical properties of single B-lymphoma cells have been investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). With the assistance of microfabricated patterned pillars, the surface topography and ultrastructure of single living B-lymphoma cell were visualized by AFM. The apoptosis of B-lymphoma cells induced by rituximab alone was observed by acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) double fluorescent staining. The rituximab-induced changes of mechanical properties in B-lymphoma cells were measured dynamically and the results showed that B-lymphoma cells became dramatically softer after incubation with rituximab. These results can improve our understanding of rituximab’effect and will facilitate the further investigation of the underlying mechanisms.     

基于i-Tree模型的城市森林经济效益评估

城市森林的生态服务功能对改善城市环境质量具有重要作用,如何量化这些生态服务功能是使城市森林发挥最大效益的一个重要前提.随着科学的发展,对城市森林经济效益评估的量化方法已由传统的CTLA法、Burnley法、碳税法、造林成本法等发展到模型测算法.本文介绍的i-Tree模型是由美国林务局(USDA Forest Service)于2006年开发的城市森林效益评估软件,具有许多其他模型如CITY green模型等不可替代的优势,在国际城市森林研究中已得到了广泛的应用,但国内尚未推广.本文主要阐述和评价了模型中UFORE和STRATUM两个主要模块的研究及应用进展,通过作者在国内的应用实践,讨论了该模型在中国的应用前景及存在的主要问题,为城市森林管理提供科学依据.     

“氯敌鼠”防治对农田小哺乳动物群落结构的影响及群落演替分析

对不同防治对策下施用氯敌鼠作为杀鼠剂对农田小哺乳动物群落结构的影响进行了研究．结果表明,杀鼠剂对群落组成有很大影响,灭鼠时机、灭鼠次数不同,群落的反应也不同．秋季灭鼠,小哺乳动物数量逐年下降,３ 年后可达到较低密度．群落多样性也逐年下跌,且回升极弱．春季灭鼠,数量可持续在低水平,群落多样性较其它处理高,对化学灭鼠破坏的生物多样性有较强的恢复力．灭鼠频次的增加对小哺乳动物总体数量降低有强化作用．可以认为,化学灭鼠明显地降低了群落中小哺乳动物的密度,也降低了群落的多样性．促使小哺乳动物群落向着优势种突出、种类单调、群落稳定性差的方向演替．     

酵母双杂交系统的发展及其衍生系统的比较

酵母双杂交及其衍生系统是鉴定及分析蛋白质-蛋白质、蛋白质-DNA、蛋白质-RNA相互作用的最常用、最有效的工具之一。本文系统介绍了该技术的背景、发展过程,以及由Fields和Song初次描述的由酵母双杂交系统衍生而来的几种主要的双杂交系统的特点,并简要比较了各系统的优缺点。     

Biological role of MicroRNA-103 based on expression profile and target genes analysis in pigs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenously expressed RNAs consisting of 20–24 nucleotides. These molecules are thought to repress protein translation by binding to target mRNAs. However, biological functions have not been assigned to most of the 175 porcine miRNAs registered in miRBase (release 15.0). In an effort to uncover miR-103 important in pigs, we examined the integrative tissue expression profile and gene ontology (GO) term enrichment of predicted target genes to determine the global biological functions of miR-103. Our results demonstrated that miR-103 is involved in various biological processes including brain development, lipid metabolism, adipocyte differentiation, hematopoiesis, and immunity. Moreover, we also experimentally verified effects of miR-103 in porcine preadipocytes. miR-103 levels increased in differentiating adipocytes, and inhibition of miR-103 effectively inhibited preadipocyte differentiation. In addition, mRNA levels of the putative miR-103 target RAI14 were higher in miR-103 inhibitor-treated adipocytes. These results demonstrate that miR-103 is involved in porcine preadipocyte differentiation and may act through the putative target gene RAI14. In a word, our data provide new insights into the global biological role of miR-103.     

SDS-PAGE法测定His-tag融合蛋白分子量产生偏差的原因

Ｈｉｓｔａｇ／ＮｉＮＴＡ系统是新发展起来的一个亲和纯化重组蛋白的有用工具,现常用于基因编码产物的特性研究中。ＳＤＳＰＡＧＥ是实验室测定蛋白质分子量通常采用的方法,而许多实验室用此方法检测Ｈｉｓｔａｇ融合蛋白时却常发现测得的分子量偏大,产生偏差的原因尚未阐明。为弄清这一问题,本实验室在研究一个Ｈｉｓｔａｇ融合蛋白Ｐ７３Ｈｉｓ时,首先用ＳＤＳＰＡＧＥ法测得其分子量确实比理论计算值大,然后对其进行Ｃ末端氨基酸顺序测定、电喷雾质谱分析,结果证实其实际分子量与理论值一致。酶切去除包括Ｈｉｓｔａｇ在内的部分肽段使ＳＤＳＰＡＧＥ法测量蛋白分子量的偏差大大降低,证实Ｈｉｓｔａｇ确实是造成偏差的原因之一。推测由于Ｈｉｓｔａｇ中的碱性氨基酸的作用造成蛋白在ＳＤＳＰＡＧＥ中迁移变慢,而导致偏差。这一现象值得引起有关研究者的注意。     

观赏羽衣甘蓝SSR标记分型与亲缘关系研究

观赏羽衣甘蓝凭借优良的观赏特性和抗逆性已经成为重要的冷季观赏植物。国内观赏羽衣甘蓝育种起步较晚,并且缺乏对种质资源遗传背景的系统研究。本研究应用SSR标记对不同类型的观赏羽衣甘蓝材料进行标记分型和亲缘关系分析。从99对均匀分布于甘蓝基因组的SSR引物中筛选出46对多态性好的引物,对27份不同类型的观赏羽衣甘蓝材料进行标记分型,共扩增出210个多态性位点,平均PIC值为0.58。进一步利用标记分型结果进行STRUCTURE群体结构、UPGMA聚类和聚类热图分析,结果显示3种分析结果基本一致,可以将27份材料分为圆叶、羽叶和皱叶3种类型,其中圆叶和羽叶类型的亲缘关系更近,与皱叶类型的亲缘关系较远;STRUCTURE分析还可以将双亲为不同类型的杂交种材料进行区分;聚类热图分析可以将标记分型结果形象的展示出来。本研究为进一步建立观赏羽衣甘蓝分子指纹图谱,明确种质资源的遗传背景,建立观赏羽衣甘蓝分子标记辅助选择育种体系,培育具有自主知识产权的新品种奠定基础。