Chronosequence predictions are robust in a Neotropical secondary forest,but plots miss the mark

Tropical secondary forests (TSF) are a global carbon sink of 1.6 Pg C/year. However, TSF carbon uptake is estimated using chronosequence studies that assume differently aged forests can be used to predict change in aboveground biomass density (AGBD) over time. We tested this assumption using two airborne lidar datasets separated by 11.5 years over a Neotropical landscape. Using data from 1998, we predicted canopy height and AGBD within 1.1 and 10.3% of observations in 2009, with higher accuracy for forest height than AGBD and for older TSFs in comparison to younger ones. This result indicates that the space‐for‐time assumption is robust at the landscape‐scale. However, since lidar measurements of secondary tropical forest are rare, we used the 1998 lidar dataset to test how well plot‐based studies quantify the mean TSF height and biomass in a landscape. We found that the sample area required to produce estimates of height or AGBD close to the landscape mean is larger than the typical area sampled in secondary forest chronosequence studies. For example, estimating AGBD within 10% of the landscape mean requires more than thirty 0.1 ha plots per age class, and more total area for larger plots. We conclude that under‐sampling in ground‐based studies may introduce error into estimations of the TSF carbon sink, and that this error can be reduced by more extensive use of lidar measurements.     

CHANGES IN THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF GRAY WHALES (ESCHRICHTIUS ROBUSTUS) IN MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO DURING AN EL NIÑO EVENT

The oceanographic changes during the El Niño and La Niña of 1998–1999 have provided an opportunity to document the effects of these events on the migratory patterns of gray whales ( Eschrichtius robustus ). Magdalena Bay is located at the southernmost point of the gray whale's annual breeding migration along the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. Standardized surveys were conducted for three consecutive seasons (1997–1999) in Magdalena Bay, enabling an assessment of the changes in the relative abundance of gray whales with altered temperature. The average temperature of the bay in 1998 was 4.2°C higher than in 1997 and 5.8°C higher than in 1999. The number of whale sightings during that time period was inversely related to temperature, with nearly 15 times greater relative abundance observed in 1999 than in 1998. It is hypochesized that the decreasing temperatures associated with the La Niña event of 1999 may have induced more whales to travel farther south along their migration route. Alternative hypotheses are also expiored. Comparisons of the three years are discussed with consideration of the importance of environmental conditions versus area fidelity as determining factors in the location of gray whale calving and breeding activities.     

Acid phosphatases bind to the main high density lipoprotein apolipoprotein A-I

Light-dependent Ca²⁺ efflux via the Ca²⁺/H⁺ antiport in the photosynthetic purple sulfur bacterium Chromatium vinosum was inhibited by three phenothiazines: chlorpromazine; trifluoperazine and phenothiazine. The inhibitors had no effect on Ca²⁺ uptake by C. vinosum in the dark nor any effect on the light-dependent efflux of either Na⁺ or Tl⁺ catalyzed, respectively, by the C. vinosum Na⁺/H⁺ or K⁺/H⁺ antiports. Ruthenium red and LaCl₃, neither of which inhibited light-dependent Ca²⁺ efflux in C. vinosum, markedly inhibited Ca²⁺ uptake in the dark by C. vinosum cells. Ruthenium red had no effect on the uptake of either Na⁺or the K⁺ analog T1⁺ by C. vinosum cells in the dark. These results have been interpreted in terms of two separate Ca²⁺ transport systems in C. vinosum: (i) a phenothiazine-sensitive and ruthenium red, La³⁺-insensitive Ca²⁺/H⁺ antiport responsible for Ca²⁺ efflux in the light; and (ii) a ruthenium red and La³⁺-sensitive but phenothiazine-insensitive Ca²⁺ uptake system.     

组织纤溶酶原激活剂突变体(La-tPA)转基因鼠的建立

用羊β－乳球蛋白基因（ＢＬＧ）５区５×１０３ｂ（１０３ｂ,旧称ｋｂ）为调控序列,构建了乳腺表达组织纤溶酶原激活剂突变体（Ｌａ－ｔＰＡ）载体．对５４０枚小鼠受精卵进行显微注射,经ＰＣＲ和Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎｂｌｏｔ检测,获得６只整合有人Ｌａ－ｔＰＡ的转基因小鼠,整合率为３２％．这为未来利用转基因动物生产Ｌａ－ｔＰＡ提供依据     

镧浸种对水稻种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响

以水稻种子为材料,研究了稀土元素镧对水稻种子活力和幼苗生长的影响。结果表明,1~20mg.L-1La3+处理能提高水稻种子的活力,提高蛋白酶、淀粉酶和脂肪酶的活性,并能促进水稻茎、叶和根系的生长,其中10mg.L-1La3+处理效果最佳。当浓度超过30mg.L-1时,水稻种子萌发和幼苗生长受到抑制。此外,镧对水稻植株地下部分(根系)生长的影响比地上部分(茎叶)生长的影响要明显。镧对水稻种子萌发期间3种酶活性的影响程度表现为蛋白酶>脂肪酶>淀粉酶。     

Remarkably preserved annelid worms from the La Meseta Formation (Eocene), Seymour Island, Antarctica

Abstract: Worm tubes, which exhibit the replaced tube-lining membrane, have been collected from the lowermost Lower Eocene Acantilados Allomember of the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica. The discovery represents the oldest examples of preservation of the tube-lining membrane of tube-dwelling Polychaeta in the fossil record. A new genus and species, Caprascolex antarcticus , are described. The specimens are preserved as thin coatings of amorphous iron oxide on the inner surface of the moulds interpreted to be the replaced tube-lining membrane. Examination of the rarely described tube-lining mucosoid membrane in extant polychaetes shows that the fossils are nearly identical in morphology and scale to extant forms. These fossils record in remarkable detail the morphology of the tube-lining membrane, which appears to be composed of growth bands formed as the worm constructed the tube. The tube-lining is believed to have been originally preserved as pyrite, with subsequent oxidation to iron oxide. The tube-lining membrane of worm tubes possibly is known from only one other fossil occurrence.     

Method Review: Estimation of Colony Densities of the Army Ant Eciton burchellii in Costa Rica

We evaluated the performance of a method developed to estimate colony densities of the army ant Eciton burchellii , a keystone species, based on raid crossings on trails, in Costa Rica. The method was compared with a census obtained by tracking ant-following birds, and the effect of walking distance and rainfall was evaluated. We found that the method performs well when at least 60 km of trail have been walked (replicated walks are permissible), and when rainfall is avoided.     

NaHCO3胁迫下硝酸镧对黑麦草幼苗光合机构的保护作用

研究了150 mmol·L^-1NaHCO₃胁迫下,不同浓度硝酸镧对黑麦草幼苗光合作用、叶绿素荧光参数、Mehler反应,以及叶黄素循环的影响.结果表明：低浓度硝酸镧(0.05 mmol·L^-1)叶面喷施处理能显著减小NaHCO₃胁迫下黑麦草叶片净光合速率(P_n)、气孔导度(G_s)、蒸腾速率(T_r)、气孔限制值(L_s)的下降幅度和胞间CO₂浓度(C_i) 的上升幅度,有效缓解NaHCO₃胁迫对叶片PSⅡ光化学猝灭(q_P)、实际光化学效率(Φ_PSⅡ)、依赖光合碳同化电子传递(ETR_p)和依赖Mehler反应电子传递(ETR_m) 的抑制,增强黑麦草叶片中超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化物酶和抗坏血酸过氧化物酶的活性,提高非光化学能量耗散(NPQ)、叶黄素循环库(V+A+Z)和脱环氧化程度(A+Z)/(V+A+Z),从而减轻NaHCO₃胁迫对光合机构的伤害;但高浓度硝酸镧(0.5 mmol·L^-1)对NaHCO₃胁迫伤害的缓解效果不明显.表明适宜浓度的硝酸镧能够缓解NaHCO₃胁迫下非气孔因素引起的黑麦草叶片光合速率下降以及对光化学效率的抑制,并通过促进Mehler反应直接耗散过剩激发能和激活依赖叶黄素循环的热耗散,保护NaHCO₃胁迫引起的过剩光能对光合机构造成的伤害,而Mehler反应加强所产生的活性氧可被抗氧化酶活性的提高所清除.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic measurement of exogenous thiosulfate in urine and plasma

A simple technique using reverse-phase ion-pair liquid chromatography for measurement of exogenous thiosulfate is described. Accurate measurement of thiosulfate in plasma and urine was permitted by precolumn derivatization with monobromobimane, a substance that readily yields fluorescent compounds upon reaction with a variety of biologically important nucleophiles including glutathione, cysteine, and sulfite. Using an injection volume of 50 microliters, as little as 0.16 nmol of thiosulfate was reliably measured. The interassay precision of the method was reflected by a coefficient of variation of 7.7% while the coefficient of variation for interassay analysis was 2.6%. Recovery of thiosulfate from plasma was 96.9 +/- 3.2% and greater than 98% from urine. The simplicity, sensitivity, and precision of the method make it ideal for the study of thiosulfate and other important nucleophiles in body fluids.