Litter decomposition rates in Canadian forests

The effect of litter quality and climate on the rate of decomposition of plant tissues was examined by the measurement of mass remaining after 3 years’ exposure of 11 litter types placed at 18 forest sites across Canada. Amongst sites, mass remaining was strongly related to mean annual temperature and precipitation and amongst litter types the ratio of Klason lignin to nitrogen in the initial tissue was the most important litter quality variable. When combined into a multiple regression, mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation and Klason lignin:nitrogen ratio explained 73% of the variance in mass remaining for all sites and tissues. Using three doubled CO₂ GCM climate change scenarios for four Canadian regions, these relationships were used to predict increases in decomposition rate of 4–7% of contemporary rates (based on mass remaining after 3 years), because of increased temperature and precipitation. This increase may be partially offset by evidence that plants growing under elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentrations produce litter with high lignin:nitrogen ratios which slows the rate of decomposition, but this change will be small compared to the increased rate of decomposition derived from climatic changes.     

Soil heterogeneity effects on canopy structure and composition during early succession

Early succession from annuals to herbaceous and woody perennials on abandoned fields and grasslands is marked by vegetation heterogeneity; i.e., variation in canopy composition and structure over the field through time. Soil resource heterogeneity could promote vegetation heterogeneity. We created soil resource patchiness on two newly ploughed fields by establishing two types (fertilized, unfertilized) of checkerboard plots with two, four, or eight subplots (trenched, untrenched) to test effects of soil fertility heterogeneity scale on vegetation heterogeneity during early succession. Canopy composition and structure were censused in years 2, 4 and 6. On both fields, soil resource heterogeneity did not affect canopy composition or structure. Differential abundance of dominant species, Ambrosia trifida on one field and Solidago altissima on the other, between fertilized and unfertilized plots led to decreased vegetation heterogeneity among subplots within plots and increased vegetation heterogeneity among plots. Soil enrichment promoted taller and layered, but species-poor, canopy. In general, soil fertility effects on abundance, expansion, and dominance of individuals of dominant species promoted variation in canopy composition and structure, or vegetation heterogeneity, among plots on the two fields.     

YAC contigs mapping the human COL4A5 and COL4A6 genes and DXS118 within Xq21.3–q22

Sequence-tagged sites (STSs) were developed for three loci of uncertain X chromosomal localization (DXS122, DXS137, and DXS174) and were used to seed YAC contigs. Two contigs now total about 3.3 Mb formatted with 34 STSs. One contains DXS122 and DXS174 within 250 kb on single YACs; it is placed in Xq21.3–q22.1 by FISH analysis, which is consistent with somatic cell hybrid panel analyses and with the inclusion of a probe that detects polymorphism at the DXS118 locus already assigned to that general region. The other contig, which contains DXS137, is in Xq22.2 by FISH, consistent with cell hybrid analyses and with the finding that it covers the human COL4A5 and COL4A6 genes known to be in that vicinity. In addition to extending the cloned coverage of this portion of the X chromosome, these materials should aid, for example, in the further analysis of Alport syndrome.     

Evaluation of amidoxime derivatives as prodrug candidates of potent bis-cationic antimalarials

Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for most of the cases of malaria and its resistance to established antimalarial drugs is a major issue. Thus, new chemotherapies are needed to fight the emerging multi-drug resistance of P. falciparum malaria, like choline analogues targeting plasmodial phospholipidic metabolism. Here we describe the synthesis of amidoxime derivatives as prodrug candidates of reverse-benzamidines and hybrid compounds able to mimic choline, as well as the design of a new series of asymmetrical bis-cationic compounds. Bioconversion studies were conducted on amidoximes in asymmetrical series and showed that amidoxime prodrug strategy could be applied on C-alkylamidine moieties, like benzamidines and that N-substituents did not alter the bioconversion of amidoximes. The antimalarial activity of the three series of compounds was evaluated in vitro against P. falciparum and in vivo against P. vinckei petteri in mice.     

喷灌对藏北高寒草地生产力和物种多样性的影响

通过3a(2008—2010年)的藏北高寒草地喷灌试验,研究了不同喷灌量对草地群落生产力和物种多样性的影响。结果表明,丰水年灌溉对藏北高寒草地的影响较小;而在相对干旱年份灌溉对高寒草地生产力和物种多样性影响显著。喷灌条件下高寒草地生物量显著提高,最高增幅出现在高水(GS)样地中,达到116%。喷灌明显促进物种重要值提高,其中灌木和阔叶杂草比例增加趋势更为明显。不同喷灌条件下优势物种相对重要值均有不同程度的降低,高水处理降低幅度最大。物种多样性方面,喷灌措施能够明显促进高寒草地Simpson指数和Shannon-weiner指数增加(P0.05),E.Pielou均匀度指数无显著变化(P0.05)。Shannon-weiner指数与生物量之间存在显著正相关关系(P0.05)。未来降水增多的气候条件可以减少干旱对高寒草地带来的负面影响,有利于提高草地生产力和维持草地物种多样性,促进高寒草地畜牧业健康发展。     

Stem Elongation Response to Neighbour Shade in Sprawling and Upright Polygonum Species

Shading by neighbouring plants, which reduces energy for photosynthesisand lowers the ratio of red:far red light, can trigger a stemelongation or ‘overtopping’ response in herbaceousplants. We compared the stem elongation response of two Polygonumspecies in a greenhouse experiment. P. sagittatum, a sprawling,vine-like annual, and P. hydropiperoides, an upright perennial,were grown from seeds at three levels of neighbour shade producedby crowding a cohort of real neighbour plants or adult-sizedfake neighbour plants that provided shade and reduced the red:far-redratio. We hypothesized that the annual would show a more pronouncedelongation response to developing or adult neighbour shade becausevine-like plants are less mechanically constrained to remainupright and self-supporting. Internodes on stems of bothP. sagittatumand P. hydropiperoides increased in length as the amount ofshading by real or fake neighbours increased. P. sagittatumclimbed on adjacent plants, and had longer stems with more nodesthan those of P. hydropiperoides. Although both P. sagittatumand P. hydropiperoides tended to elongate with crowding, thegreater elongation response to both real and fake neighboursshown by the sprawling annual reflects its ability to extendupward into a canopy beyond self-supporting height. Self-supportingP. hydropiperoides can extend upward with, or overtop, cohortneighbours, but might less readily elongate into an extant canopy.In dense stands, P. sagittatum can become structurally dependenton close P. hydropiperoides neighbours. Our results suggestthat the elongation response of P. sagittatum to neighbourscan contribute to structural dependence and could facilitatecoexistence of these species.Copyright 2000 Annals of BotanyCompany Neighbour effects, light variation, red:far-red, plant growth strategy, Polygonum sagittatum, Polygonum hydropiperoides, smartweeds     

Effects of imidazoleacetic acid on brain amino acids and body temperature in mice

Free amino acids have been studied in the brains of fasted mice (18 h) injected intraperitoneally with a 3 mmol/kg dose of imidazole-4-acetic acid (IMA). Groups of mice were killed by cervical dislocation and their brains were removed before injection or at 5, 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min after injection and treated immediately with perchloric acid. Amino acid analyses were performed on the perchlorate extracts. Of the 16 amino acids evaluated quantitatively, only glutamic acid and glutamine showed progressive changes during the period of observation, the glutamic acid falling and glutamine levels rising. Serine and threonine levels were increased significantly above the control values from 30 min after the injection to the end of the experiment. Rectal temperatures (measured with a thermistor probe) after injection of IMA showed a progressive reduction from the control levels throughout the period of observation. An essentially linear correlation was noted between the decreases in body temperature and the differences between the glutamic acid and glutamine values for the first 90 min post-injection. Our data suggest that IMA affects mechanisms of temperature regulation, possibly in the hypothalamus, and that, among other processes, the activities of glutaminase and of serine and threonine dehydratases in brain might be reduced when brain temperatures fall.     

Design and synthesis of amidoxime derivatives for orally potent C-alkylamidine-based antimalarial agents

Within the frame of the design of prodrug candidates to deliver a C-alkylamidine antimalarial agent, we showed that specific O-substitutions were needed on the alkylamidoxime structure. Among the newly synthesized molecules, bis-oxadiazolone and bis-O-methylsulfonylamidoxime derivatives induced a complete clearance of parasitemia in mice after oral administration.     

Die Nervenversorgung des Hodens

Zusammenfassung An Hoden von menschlichen Föten und jungen Katzen konnte mittels Imprägnation nach Bielschowsky-Gross die feinere Gewebs-innervation insbesondere des Zwischengewebes gut beobachtet werden.Die feineren Nervenfasern des Zwischengewebes bilden, wie in allen vegetativ innervierten Geweben ein dichtes intraprotoplasmatisches dreidimensionales Geflecht, mit stellenweise eingestreuten Schwannschen Kernen. Diese Geflechte entsprechen dem von Boeke beschriebenen Grundplexus oder dem gröberen Teile des Terminalretikulums von Stöhr jr.Diese Geflechte können jedoch auf Grund dieser Befunde nicht als vegetativer Endapparat betrachtet werden, da feine Zweige desselben aus dem Leitplasma austretend nach kurzem individuellen Verlauf teils in (oder an) den Gewebselementen des Zwischengewebes (Leydigsche Zellen oder Kapillaren) endigen, teils in die Hodenkanälchen eindringen, wo ihr weiteres Schicksal nicht festgestellt werden konnte.Experimentell morphologische Untersuchungen ergaben, daß bei der Katze das Zwischengewebe und die Hodenkanälchen nur von vegetativen Fasern versorgt wird. Sensorische Fasern konnten ebenso, wie auch Ganglienzellen nicht nachgewiesen werden.     

Was istAlyssum paniculatum Desf.?

Ohne Zusammenfassung