Modelling age‐ and density‐structured reproductive biology and seasonal survival of Apanteles galleriae Wilkinson (Hym., Braconidae)

Abstract: The biology of Apanteles galleriae Wilkinson, an important biological control agent of wax moths, is well described in the literature. We developed models simulating the functional response of fecundity and female progeny proportion of adult females as a function of age, host and/or parasitoid density to integrate current knowledge. Daily pattern of age‐related fecundity and female progeny proportion of different parasitoids was also examined. We investigated the effect of sex, mating status and seasonal time on adult longevity. We derived survival data of females in two different seasonal periods. We found that 50% of adult life span is important for an efficient fecundity. The patterns of host and/or parasitoid density‐dependent fecundity and sex ratio varied considerably. The highest fecundity and female progeny proportion occurred with one parasitoid and one female equivalent host. Longevity of adults was affected by sex and month periods, but mating status did not affect their longevity. Female survival was greater between December and May relative to June and November. Our results indicated that age, host and parasitoid density, and the timing of rearing influenced the life processes of parasitoids.     

投影寻踪模型在区域生态环境质量评价中的应用

大量相关因子的简化和降维处理是生态环境质量评价的关键问题之一。而投影寻踪模型可将多个指标投影到线性空间,实现指标的降维处理。本文以巢湖流域生态环境质量综合评价进行了实证分析,巢湖流域生态环境质量为3级,其中合肥市和六安市所属区域生态环境质量为3级,巢湖市为4级。研究表明,应用投影寻踪模型进行区域生态环境质量评价人为干扰少,操作简便,便于在生产实践中应用,为区域生态环境质量评价提供了一条新途径。     

鲍姆木层孔菌（桑黄）脂溶性提取物对PC12神经元细胞衰老的保护作用

鲍姆木层孔菌（桑黄）Phellinus baumii脂溶性提取物对叠氮钠诱导PC12神经元细胞衰老的保护作用。用叠氮钠作用于体外培养的PC12细胞,并用该菌脂溶性提取物对其进行保护,分别用MTT法、流式细胞仪法、细胞核染色法和β-半乳糖苷酶检测试剂盒检测细胞活力、早期凋亡率、晚期凋亡率和β-半乳糖苷酶阳性细胞率变化,筛选出具有延缓细胞衰老的有效部位和有效作用浓度。通过细胞活力检测发现正丁醇萃取的活性部位可以有效保护叠氮钠诱导的细胞活力下降,其有效工作浓度为200mg/L。流式细胞仪和细胞核染色测定结果均表     

喀斯特地区农村劳动力转移对生态恢复的影响及其区域差异——基于酉阳和沿河的农户调查数据

喀斯特地区的生态恢复对于促进国土空间的生态修复、实现区域生态安全具有重要意义。基于酉阳县和沿河县的383份农户调查数据,从微观的农户尺度运用Tobit模型分析喀斯特地区农村劳动力转移对生态恢复的影响,并关注其对酉阳县和沿河县生态恢复的影响差异。研究结果表明：①研究区劳动力转移现象明显,47.67%的农村劳动力发生了转移;②研究区生态恢复情况总体较好,酉阳县的生态恢复好于沿河县;③农村劳动力转移通过农业劳动力的流失效应和非农收入的替代效应促进了喀斯特地区的生态恢复;④劳动力转移的程度不同,对生态恢复的作用强度也不同。沿河相对滞后的劳动力转移程度,使得其生态恢复稍弱于酉阳。为促进喀斯特地区生态恢复,政府应有序引导农村劳动力向非农就业转移,提高转移农户的非农化程度。     

Rainforest conversion to smallholder cash crops leads to varying declines of beetles (Coleoptera) on Sumatra

Southeast Asian arthropod biodiversity is in rapid decline, but the variability of responses within taxa has received little attention. Using canopy fogging, we collected ~50,000 beetles (Coleoptera) in (1) lowland rainforest, (2) jungle rubber (rubber agroforest), and smallholder monoculture plantations of (3) rubber and (4) oil palm in Sumatra, across two landscapes and seasons. On average, beetle abundance was more than 50%, and biomass over 75%, lower in rubber and oil palm plantations than in rainforest and jungle rubber. This pattern was influenced by landscape and season. Abundance and biomass declines were similar in Chrysomelidae, Elateridae, and Staphylinidae, but differed in Curculionidae, which were most abundant in oil palm due to the introduced oil palm pollinator Elaeidobius kamerunicus. Across beetle families, species richness in monocultures was reduced by at least 70% compared to rainforest, with beetle richness in jungle rubber being similar to rainforest. Community composition in oil palm plantations differed markedly from the other land-use systems for Chrysomelidae and Curculionidae, but less for Elateridae and Staphylinidae. Turnover contributed more to overall beta diversity than nestedness for all families and land-use systems. Likely undersampling of the beetle community in rainforest suggests that declines of beetle density and diversity are much more severe than reported here, especially for beetle families with many concealed species, such as Staphylinidae. This study provides first evidence that negative responses of beetles to tropical land-use change vary among families, and is the first report of its kind from heavily understudied Sumatra.     

Ecological and methodological drivers of non-stationarity in tree growth response to climate

Radial tree growth is sensitive to environmental conditions, making observed growth increments an important indicator of climate change effects on forest growth. However, unprecedented climate variability could lead to non-stationarity, that is, a decoupling of tree growth responses from climate over time, potentially inducing biases in climate reconstructions and forest growth projections. Little is known about whether and to what extent environmental conditions, species, and model type and resolution affect the occurrence and magnitude of non-stationarity. To systematically assess potential drivers of non-stationarity, we compiled tree-ring width chronologies of two conifer species, Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris, distributed across cold, dry, and mixed climates. We analyzed 147 sites across the Europe including the distribution margins of these species as well as moderate sites. We calibrated four numerical models (linear vs. non-linear, daily vs. monthly resolution) to simulate growth chronologies based on temperature and soil moisture data. Climate–growth models were tested in independent verification periods to quantify their non-stationarity, which was assessed based on bootstrapped transfer function stability tests. The degree of non-stationarity varied between species, site climatic conditions, and models. Chronologies of P. sylvestris showed stronger non-stationarity compared with Picea abies stands with a high degree of stationarity. Sites with mixed climatic signals were most affected by non-stationarity compared with sites sampled at cold and dry species distribution margins. Moreover, linear models with daily resolution exhibited greater non-stationarity compared with monthly-resolved non-linear models. We conclude that non-stationarity in climate–growth responses is a multifactorial phenomenon driven by the interaction of site climatic conditions, tree species, and methodological features of the modeling approach. Given the existence of multiple drivers and the frequent occurrence of non-stationarity, we recommend that temporal non-stationarity rather than stationarity should be considered as the baseline model of climate–growth response for temperate forests.     

毛竹林地上部分生物量遥感估算模型的可移植性

选择浙江省内临安、安吉、龙泉3个毛竹产区为研究区域,基于野外调查数据和Landsat 5 TM影像,分别建立3个区域的毛竹林生物量遥感估算模型,包括一元线性模型、一元非线性模型、逐步回归模型、多元线性模型和Erf-BP神经网络模型,并对3个区域的模型进行评价;最后,选择精度较好的模型进行移植并对其可移植性进行分析.结果表明:在3个区域,Eff-BP神经网络模型精度均最高,逐步回归模型和一元非线性模型次之.Erf-BP神经网络模型的可移植性最佳.模型类型和模型自变量对统计模型的可移植性有较大影响.     

基于智能体模型的青岛市林地生态格局评价与优化

设计并在GIS平台上开发了基于智能体的生态格局评价模型,以青岛市及周边地区林地为研究对象,分析不同林地空间格局及生态网络保护框架对于物种生存与扩散的影响.结果表明,与现状相比,不同等级的生态网络框架对物种种群数量与物种迁移都有明显提升,且等级越高的生态网络框架提升作用越明显.然而仅仅依靠生态网络框架不足以使研究区域林地系统形成功能上的相互连通,因此,在分析研究区域现状土地利用格局基础上,提出与湿地系统结合,在胶州湾周围及大沽河干流地区增加林地的空间布局.通过模型模拟分析,发现优化后的林地空间格局结合生态网络框架能有效提升林地之间的物种扩散.基于模拟结果,为研究区林地生态格局构建提出如下建议:(1)保证现有的规模较大的林地不被破坏;(2)青岛市中部湿地系统可以作为新增林地的理想区域;(3)生态网络框架可作为青岛市建立城市组团间生态间隔的空间参考.     

CDK inhibitors R-roscovitine and S-CR8 effectively block renal and hepatic cystogenesis in an orthologous model of ADPKD

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and other forms of PKD are associated with dysregulated cell cycle and proliferation. Although no effective therapy for the treatment of PKD is currently available, possible mechanism-based approaches are beginning to emerge. A therapeutic intervention targeting aberrant cilia-cell cycle connection using CDK-inhibitor R-roscovitine showed effective arrest of PKD in jck and cpk models that are not orthologous to human ADPKD. To evaluate whether CDK inhibition approach will translate into efficacy in an orthologous model of ADPKD, we tested R-roscovitine and its derivative S-CR8 in a model with a conditionally inactivated Pkd1 gene (Pkd1 cKO). Similar to ADPKD, Pkd1 cKO mice developed renal and hepatic cysts. Treatment of Pkd1 cKO mice with R-roscovitine and its more potent and selective analog S-CR8 significantly reduced renal and hepatic cystogenesis and attenuated kidney function decline. Mechanism of action studies demonstrated effective blockade of cell cycle and proliferation and reduction of apoptosis. Together, these data validate CDK inhibition as a novel and effective approach for the treatment of ADPKD.     

The Israel National Skin Bank: Quality Assurance and Graft Performance of Stored Tissues

The Israel National Skin Bank (INSB) was founded jointly by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Medical Corps and the Ministry of Health in 1986. The prime purpose of the Skin Bank is to treat burn victims incurred at war or during mass casualty incidences. The INSB Protocol is comprised of international skin bank protocols and our previous and present research results. They provide the framework for selecting optimal guidelines for procurement, processing, preservation, storage and evaluation of transplantation performance of viable skin grafts. For evaluation and direct comparison of graft performance of glycerolized or cryopreserved skin stored for long periods, we have applied a mouse recipient model developed by us. This model assesses graft performance before the rejection process takes place. The in vivo design has inherent clinical relevance, which is especially appealing. Cryopreserved skin performed better than glycerolized skin (p > 0.027), but fresh skin performed significantly better than cryopreserved skin (p > 0.003), as analyzed by the Mann–Whitney non-parametric test. Then graft performance of skin specimens were cryopreserved by programmed or stepwise freezing and stored at -80°C or in liquid nitrogen for 1 and 6–10 months was evaluated. The average score of skin preserved by programmed freezing and stored in liquid nitrogen is the highest for both storage periods. This method has a highly significant advantage (p < 0.007) over the others for 6–10 months storage, evaluated by graft adherence. Several interaction factors determine the quality of cryopreserved skin. Highly significant is the interaction factor/'combined effect' of sample variability with the method of cryopreservation or with the storage period. Finally, the results of paired comparison of selected histology criteria of cryopreserved to fresh skin indicated that storage of skin for up to 5 years did not impair significantly its performance compared to fresh skin, whereas, after six years of storage, there was a highly significant (p < 0.001) impairment in skin quality. We offer a simplified in vivo model and analysis for cryopreserved skin graft performance, suggesting that the evaluation procedures, which are issues of great interest in skin banking, may help future skin banks to make informed choices and decisions regarding quality issues.