Body-size spectra of biofilm-dwelling protozoa and their seasonal shift in coastal ecosystems

Community-based assessment of protozoa is usually performed at a taxon-dependent resolution. As an inherent ‘taxon-free’ trait, however, body-size spectrum has proved to be a highly informative indicator to summarize the functional structure of a community in both community research and monitoring programs in aquatic ecosystems. To demonstrate the relationships between the taxon-free resolution of protozoan communities and water conditions, the body-size spectra of biofilm-dwelling protozoa and their seasonal shift and environmental drivers were explored based on an annual dataset collected monthly from coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Body sizes were calculated in equivalent spherical diameter (ESD). Among a total of 8 body-size ranks, S2 (19–27 μm), S3 (28–36 μm), S4 (37–50 μm) and S5 (53–71 μm) were the top four levels in frequency of occurrence, while rank S1 (13–17 μm), S2 and S4 were the dominant levels in abundance. These dominants showed a clear seasonal succession: S2/S4 (spring) → S2/S4 (summer) → S4 (autumn) → S2 (winter) in frequency of occurrence; S1 (spring) → S4 (summer) → S2 (autumn) → S1 (winter) in abundance. Bootstrapped average analysis showed a clear seasonal shift in body-size spectra of the protozoa during a 1-year cycle, and the best-matching analysis demonstrated that the temporal variations in frequency of occurrence and abundance were significantly correlated with water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), alone or in combination with chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nutrients. Thus, the body-size spectra of biofilm-dwelling protozoa were seasonally shaped and might be used as a time and cost efficient bioindicator of water quality in marine ecosystems.     

Mechanical stability of trees under dynamic loads

Tree stability in windstorms and tree failure are important issues in urban areas where there can be risks of damage to people and property and in forests where wind damage causes economic loss. Current methods of managing trees, including pruning and assessment of mechanical strength, are mainly based on visual assessment or the experience of people such as trained arborists. Only limited data are available to assess tree strength and stability in winds, and most recent methods have used a static approach to estimate loads. Recent research on the measurement of dynamic wind loads and the effect on tree stability is giving a better understanding of how different trees cope with winds. Dynamic loads have been measured on trees with different canopy shapes and branch structures including a palm (Washingtonia robusta), a slender Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) and trees with many branches and broad canopies including hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) and two species of eucalypt (Eucalyptus grandis, E. teretecornus). Results indicate that sway is not a harmonic, but is very complex due to the dynamic interaction of branches. A new dynamic model of a tree is described, incorporating the dynamic structural properties of the trunk and branches. The branch mass contributes a dynamic damping, termed mass damping, which acts to reduce dangerous harmonic sway motion of the trunk and so minimizes loads and increases the mechanical stability of the tree. The results from 12 months of monitoring sway motion and wind loading forces are presented and discussed.     

Computational Oral Absorption Simulation for Low‐Solubility Compounds

Bile micelles play an important role in oral absorption of low‐solubility compounds. Bile micelles can affect solubility, dissolution rate, and permeability. For the pH–solubility profile in bile micelles, the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation should be modified to take bile‐micelle partition into account. For the dissolution rate, in the Nernst–Brunner equation, the effective diffusion coefficient in bile‐micelle media should be used instead of the monomer diffusion coefficient. The diffusion coefficient of bile micelles is 8‐ to 18‐fold smaller than that of monomer molecules. For permeability, the effective diffusion coefficient in the unstirred water layer adjacent to the epithelial membrane, and the free fraction at the epithelial membrane surface should be taken into account. The importance of these aspects is demonstrated here using several in vivo and clinical oral‐absorption data of low‐solubility model compounds. Using the theoretical equations, the food effect on oral absorption is further discussed.     

致细菌性肝脓肿的肺炎克雷伯杆菌多位点序列分型及药敏分析

目的了解致细菌性肝脓肿的肺炎克雷伯杆菌多位点序列分型及药敏情况。方法收集2011年1月至2012年6月在浙江大学医学院附属第一医院感染科住院的细菌性肝脓肿患者,脓液培养为肺炎克雷伯杆菌的23株菌株,对23株菌株进行多位点序列分型;应用K—B纸片扩散法检测23株肺炎克雷伯杆菌菌株对10种抗菌药物的敏感性;应用超广谱β-内酰胺酶（ESBLs）确认试验了解23株菌株的产ESBLs情况。结果23株菌株经过多位点序列分型：ST23为最主要序列型,共有10株,ST25、ST30、ST65、ST86、ST163、ST367、ST375、ST380、ST660、ST700及ST806各1株,2株为新的ST型,未发现文献报道的产耐碳氢酶烯酶的常见sT型;23株菌株的药敏结果对哌拉西林他唑巴坦及头孢哌酮舒巴坦等8种抗菌药物的耐药率为0％,对头孢呋辛耐药率4．4％,而对氨苄西林的耐药率为100％;ESBLs确认试验其中22株为ESBL^-;1株为ESBL^＋。结论收治的致细菌性肝脓肿的肺炎克雷伯杆菌均为敏感菌株,可以经验性的选用青霉素（三代头孢）复合制剂,避免碳氢酶烯类抗生素的乱用及滥用。     

激光照射胚泡对家兔和小鼠的抗早孕研究

本文在家兔、小鼠上探索了激光的抗旱孕效应,观察到血卟啉衍生物(HPD)和激光的光化效应能使早期胚泡完全坏死和吸收,无流血和晚期流产现象,通过PNQ_3荧光分光光度计测定HPD在胚胎组织中的荧光谱,证实HPD对胚胎组织有亲和力,其对滋养叶细胞比对宫壁组织的亲和力大4倍,借以解释激光光化效应抗早孕的可能机理。     

目标?鄄诱饵库搜索策略在蛋白质组质谱鉴定和质控中的应用及研究进展

基于串联质谱的蛋白质组研究会产生海量的质谱数据,这些数据通常使用数据库搜索引擎进行鉴定分析,并根据肽段谱图匹配(PSM)反推真实的样品蛋白质．对于高通量蛋白质组数据的处理,其鉴定结果的可信是后续分析应用的前提,因此对鉴定结果的质量控制尤为重要,而基于目标-诱饵库(target-decoy)搜索策略的质量控制是目前应用最为广泛的方法．本文首先介绍了基于目标-诱饵库搜索策略搜库和质量控制的实施流程,然后综述了基于目标-诱饵库搜索策略的质量控制工具,并提出了目标-诱饵库搜索策略的不足及改善方法,最后对目标-诱饵库搜索策略进行了总结与展望．     

七姊妹山自然保护区黄杉林群落学特征

黄杉为国家Ⅱ级保护植物,是我国特有的第三纪孑遗的珍贵树种,主要分布在我国亚热带的中山地带。采用Braun-Blanquet的植物社会学调查方法并结合典型样方法对七姊妹山自然保护区的原生黄杉群落进行调查,并对其群落特征进行了分析。结果表明:在2300 m~2的调查样地,共有维管束植物52种,隶属24科38属,群落物种组成主要以杜鹃花科、豆科、五加科、壳斗科等种类为主;群落生活型组成分析显示,该黄杉群落高位芽植物占绝对优势,高位芽植物、地面芽植物占比分别为76.9%、13.5%,地上芽和地下芽植物较少,植物的生活型谱大致呈"L"型;群落重要值分析表明,黄杉重要值为53.6,占较大优势,是群落建群种,乌冈栎、石韦分别是灌木层及草本层的优势种,其重要值分别为24.0、54.8;该黄杉群落物种多样性指数整体较低,除均匀度指数外,优势度指数、多样性指数、丰富度指数总体表现出灌木层乔木层草本层,上坡山脊的规律;种群年龄结构分析表明,七姊妹山自然保护区黄杉种群年龄结构呈"L"型分布,属于增长型种群,在一定时间内,表明黄杉仍为该群落的优势种群,林窗的出现使该黄杉群落保持持续更新。     

UV‐B INDUCTION OF UV‐B PROTECTION IN ULVA PERTUSA (CHLOROPHYTA)1

The green macroalga Ulva pertusa Kjellman produced UV‐B absorbing compounds with a prominent absorption maximum at 294 nm in response only to UV‐B, and the amounts induced were proportional to the UV‐B doses. Under a 12:12‐h light:dark regime, the production of UV‐absorbing compounds occurred only during the exposure periods with little turnover in the dark. There was significant reduction in growth in parallel with the production of UV‐B absorbing compounds. The polychromatic action spectrum for the induction of UV‐B absorbing compounds in U. pertusa exhibits a major peak at 292 nm with a smaller peak at 311.5 nm. No significant induction was detected above 354.5 nm, and radiation below 285 nm caused significant reduction in the levels of UV‐B absorbing compounds. After UV‐B irradiation at 1.0 W·m^?2 for 9 h, the optimal photosynthetic quantum yield of the samples with UV‐B absorbing compounds slightly increased relative to the initial value, whereas that of thalli lacking the compounds declined to 30%–34% of the initial followed by subsequent recovery in dim light of up to 84%–85% of the initial value. There was a positive and significant relationship between the amount of UV‐B absorbing compounds with antioxidant activity as determined by the α,α‐diphenyl‐β‐picrylhydrazyl scavenging assay. In addition to mat‐forming characteristics and light‐driven photorepair, the existence and antioxidant capacity of UV‐B absorbing compounds may confer U. pertusa a greater selective advantage over other macroalgae, thereby enabling them to thrive in the presence of intense UV‐B radiation.     

Assessing the latitudinal gradient in herbivory

Plant–herbivore interactions occur in all ecosystems and provide a major avenue for energy flow to higher trophic levels. A long‐standing hypothesis to explain the latitudinal gradient in species diversity proposes that the relatively stable and frost‐free climate of the tropics should lead to more intense biotic interactions in tropical compared with temperate environments, giving rise to a greater diversity of plants and herbivores. Herbivory rates have been compared across latitudes to test this biotic interactions hypothesis, with herbivory typically being measured from observable leaf damage. However, we argue that a measure of percentage leaf damage alone does not straightforwardly reflect the cost of herbivory to the plant, and on its own does not constitute an appropriate test of the biotic interactions hypothesis. For a given amount of herbivory, the impact of herbivory is dependent upon many factors, such as the construction cost of the leaf, the growth and replacement rates and leaf life span. We investigate the latitudinal gradient in herbivory by analysing a large dataset of herbivory rates for 452 tree species and separating the species into those with short and long leaf life spans. We show that annual herbivory rates tend to be greater at lower latitudes for evergreen species (which have long‐lived leaves), but no trend in herbivory rate with latitude was found for species with short leaf life spans. Phylogenetic least squares regression assuming Ornstein‐Uhlenbeck processes also showed a negative effect of latitude on herbivory rate for evergreen trees, but we caution that viewing herbivory as a species trait is problematic. An integrative approach that incorporates leaf life span, as well as the costs of investment in growth and potential costs of losing leaf tissue, is needed to further our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of herbivory.     

荧光标记脂肪酶的固定化及其稳定性

将标记有荧光探针FITC(异硫氰基荧光素)的脂肪酶固定化,通过测定活性和荧光光谱,探究各种因素对固定化后荧光标记脂肪酶性质的影响,并分析活性、构象和荧光光谱三者之间的联系。研究结果表明:在固定化脂肪酶过程中,聚乙二醇400二丙烯酸酯能形成合理的网格结构,使酶活较高;配体诱导酶的催化构象,使酶活性提高到未诱导酶的2倍以上;配体抽提能使脂肪酶活性中心得到释放从而提高催化活力。固定化脂肪酶的稳定性大大提高,在90℃、强酸强碱下固定化酶仍保有原酶70%、60%以上的活性;用盐酸胍、脲等溶解变性剂浸泡15d后,酶活性仍然可以保持初始活性的70%以上。荧光光谱能较好地反映脂肪酶的活性和构象变化,最适pH和温度下脂肪酶的荧光强度最低,在溶解变性剂中,荧光强度随时间延长而逐渐降低,这表明不同条件下脂肪酶构象经历的去折叠过程不同。