Age and growth estimates of the bull shark,Carcharhinus leucas,from the northern Gulf of Mexico

Synopsis Length at age and growth rates for 59 bull sharks, Carcharhinus leucas, collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico were estimated from the band patterns formed seasonally in the vertebral centra. The combined age at length data for both sexes were applied to a von Bertalanffy growth model producing parameter estimates of L = 285 cm TL, K = .076, t₀ = –3.0 yr. Lengths at age for males and females were similar except that males did not attain as great a length as females. Growth was apparently slow and varied among individuals, but in general, was estimated to be 15–20 cm yr^–1 for the first five years, 10 cm yr^–1 for years 6–10, 5–7 cm yr^–1 for years 11–16, and less than 4–5 cm yr^–1 thereafter. Males mature at 210–220 cm TL or 14–15 yr of age; females mature at>225 cm TL or 18+ yr of age. The largest male (245 cm TL) was 21.3 yr old; the largest female (268 cm TL) was 24.2 yr old.     

偃麦草属三个种的染色体组研究

本文综合应用体细胞染色体分带、杂交一代 PMc MI 染色体构型统计和同工酶分析,研究了偃麦草属三个种的染色体组构成。结果表明:中间偃麦草不含与小麦同源的 B 组,有两个组部分同源,其染色体组可用 xE_1E_2表示。长穗偃麦草(10x)也不含 B 组,有四个组两两部分同源,是部分同源异源十倍体,染色体组公式为 xE_1E_1F_1F_2。四倍体偃麦草的两个染色体组间缺少同源性。     

Phase and amplitude relations between transpiration, water potential and stem shrinkage

Abstract An electrical analogue describing the phase and amplitude relations between transpiration, water potential and stem shrinkage for trees was developed. Observations of shrinking and swelling at various heights up a Pinus radiata tree were obtained over several weeks in summer and autumn. The relative amplitude in shrinkage increased by a factor of two up the stem, but phase lags were small. The data obtained were used in conjunction with the electrical analogue of the How pathway to obtain an estimate of the relative magnitude of the capacitance of the living bark and the sapwood, and to predict phase lags between transpiration and leaf water potential, and lags in transpirational flux up the stem. The results suggest that if water potentials recover by dawn, phase lags in water potential down tree stems arc small and that the exchange between water stored in the sapwood and the transpiration stream is irreversible over the diurnal time scale.     

Stereochemistry of the Brivaracetam Diastereoisomers

The stereochemistry of all four stereoisomers of brivaracetam was determined using vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy. By comparing experimentally obtained VCD spectra and computationally simulated ones, the absolute configurations can be confidently assigned without prior knowledge of their relative stereochemistry. Neither the corrected mean absolute errors analysis of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data, nor the matching of experimental and calculated infrared spectra allowed the diastereoisomers to be distinguished. VCD spectroscopy itself suffices to establish the absolute configurations of all diastereoisomers. The relative stereochemistry could also be statistically confirmed by matching experimental and computed NMR spectra using the CP3 algorithm. The combination of VCD and NMR is recommended for molecules bearing more than one chiral center, as the relative configurations obtained from NMR serve as an independent check for those established with VCD. Analysis of the calculated VCD spectra reveals that the localized NH₂ scissoring mode at around 1600 cm^‐1 is characteristic for intramolecular hydrogen bonding, while the orientation of the ethyl group is reflected by the delocalized modes between 1150 and 1050 cm^‐1. Chirality 28:215–225, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

四斑巨螯蛛(Dyschiriognotha quadrimaculata)的核型分析

报道四斑巨螯蛛的染色体数目,形态特征和性染色体组成,结果表明:四斑巨螯蛛的染色体数目是:雌性2n=26;雄性2n=24,性别决定机制是X_1X_2O型,这种蜘蛛的染色体小,常规制片显示出自然带纹。     

Peroxo heteroligand vanadates(V): Synthesis,spectra-structure relationships,and stability toward decomposition

Effect of heteroligands (L) on the properties of vanadium peroxides was investigated by preparing a number of peroxovanadium complexes, which were characterized by analysis, IR, UV/V and NMR spectra. X-ray structures for some were obtained. The vanadates(V) contain the cation M(I)=Na, K, NH₄, Rb or Cs. Diperoxo complexes include M(I)[VO(O₂)₂L], where L=dipyridyl, o-phenanthroline; M(I)₃[VO(O₂)₂(C₂O₄)]; K₂[(nicotinic acid) {VO(O₂)₂}₂]H₂O;M(I)₄[O{VO(O₂)₂}₂ cystine]2H₂O; H₄[O{VO(O₂)₂(adenine)₂)₂]2H₂O; and K₂H₂[O{VO(O₂)₂(adenosine)}₂]2H₂O. Monoperoxo vanadates(V) correspond to the formula M(I)₂[VO(O₂)L]₂ for L=citrate and malate; M(I)₂[VO(O₂)L] for L=nitrilotriacetate; M(I)[VO(O₂)L] for L=iminodiacetate, tartrate and EDTA; and [HVO₂(O₂)(adenosine)]2H₂O. Syntheses of these heteroligand peroxovanadium compounds are sensitive to pH, temperature and the concentration of the components. The stability towards decomposition in solid state, mother-liquid and pure water solutions depends upon the heteroligand. Characteristic (V=O) and (O-O) stretching frequency bands in IR can be correlated with the corresponding bond lengths and the [peroxoV(V)] charge transfer bands in UV/V spectra. Intramolecular one-electron transfer in peroxo vanadates(V) can trigger the generation of radicals, and its dependency upon the nature of the heteroligand is discussed.     

Evolution of Amitosis of the Ciliate Macronucleus: Gain of the Capacity to Divide

Ciliates exhibit nuclear dimorphism, i.e. they have a germline micronucleus and a somatic macronucleus. Macronuclei are differentiated from mitotic sisters of micronuclei. The macronuclei of "higher ciliates" are polyploid and divide acentromerically ("amitotically"); they differentiate once per life cycle. By contrast, Karyorelict (KR) ciliate macronuclei are nearly diploid and cannot divide; they must differentiate at every cell cycle. Diverse lines of evidence are presented to support the hypothesis that ancestral ciliate macronuclei were incapable of division (as in living karyorelict ciliates) and that higher ciliates gained, perhaps independently more than once, the ability to divide the macronucleus. Selective pressures that could have driven the evolution and macronuclear division and two plausible step-wise pathways for the evolution of macronuclear division are proposed. These hypotheses are relevant to our understanding of amitosis mechanisms, evolution of nuclear dimorphism, and phylogenetic classification of ciliates.     

Early replication banding in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leporinus</Emphasis> species (Osteichthyes,Characiformes) bearing differentiated sex chromosomes (ZW)

There are few examples of differentiated sex chromosomes in fishes. In the genus Leporinus, seven species present a highly differentiated ZW system, derived from heterochromatinization process. Cytogenetic analyses carried out in three of these fish species, Leporinus obtusidens, L. elongatus and L. reinhardti, through RBG-banding, showed late replication bands, coincident with heterochromatic regions in both Z and W chromosomes. A similar interstitial early replication segment was observed in the complex heterochromatic region along the Wq arms in the three species, which might correspond to a pseudoautosomal segment (SD, sex determining locus). Asynchrony related to the replication pattern among different Z chromosomes was not observed. When the identification of nuclear organizer regions by silver nitrate was performed over chromosomal preparations previously exposed to 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU), remarkable positive signals at interstitial and telomeric position were observed on the q arms of W chromosomes in the species L. elongatus and L. reinhardti. The absence of 18S ribosomal RNA gene loci in this region, formerly demonstrated by FISH, indicates that this argentophilic behavior is putatively due to heterochromatin decondensation caused by BrdU incorporation, favoring such Ag+ reaction. Early and late replication bands were also observed in the heterochromatic portions of Z and W chromosomes, indicating that euchromatic and heterochromatic regions are interspersed. The present data suggest a significant level of heterochromatic complexity in the sex chromosomes of each species. On the other hand, the replication pattern shared by them supports a monophyletic origin.     

六盘山南坡华北落叶松(Larix principis-rupprechtii)树干直径生长及其对气象因子的响应

2005年6-9月份在宁夏六盘山南侧的西峡林场,应用带状树木径向变化记录仪（Dendrometer）研究了5株华北落叶松树干的直径生长过程,结果表明,在无雨或小雨（日降雨量〈10mm）天气下,树干直径变化呈现出明显的日周期性,可将其划分为3个阶段：收缩阶段、膨胀阶段和生长阶段;在连续降雨（日降雨量≥10mm）及随后的几个晴天中,树干直径变化并不表现出完整的日周期性。基于Deslauriers等人的方法,提出了树干直径日生长量估计的修正公式,并计算了华北落叶松树干直径日生长量和累积生长量,结果表明,各样木树干直径日生长量的季节变化趋势一致,即表现为前快后慢的季节变化格局,6～7月份为快速生长期,其日均生长量在27．0～44．21μm之间;8～9月份为缓慢生长期,其日均生长量在10μm以下;各测定样木的树干直径日生长量具有明显的个体差异,这主要与林木个体大小及其所处林分中的微环境条件差异有关;整个观测期内的树干直径累积生长过程可以较好地用幂函数描述。主分量分析和偏相关分析表明,影响树干径向生长的气象因子可划分为3类,其中日降雨量、日最低气温、日平均太阳辐射和日平均空气饱和差是影响树干径向生长的主要因子。     

Myoglobin with chlorophyllous chromophores: Influence on protein stability

The stabilities of myoglobin, apo-myoglobin, and of two myoglobins with chlorophyllous chromophores (Zn-pheophorbide a and Zn-bacteriopheophorbide a), have been studied by thermal and chemical denaturation. With guanidinium chloride, the stability order is myoglobin > Zn-pheophorbide-myoglobin > Zn-bacteriopheophorbide-myoglobin ∼ apo-myoglobin. The thermal behavior is more complex. The transition temperature of thermal unfolding of the apoprotein (62.4 °C) is increased by Zn-pheophorbide a (83.9 °C) and Zn-bacteriopheophorbide a (82.6 °C) to a similar degree as by the native chromophore, heme (83.5 °C). The recovery with Zn-pheophorbide (92-98%) is even higher than with heme (74-76%), while with Zn-bacteriopheophorbide (40%) it is as low as with the apoprotein (42%). Recovery also depends on the rates of heating, and in particular the time spent at high temperatures. It is concluded that irreversibility of unfolding is related to loss of the chromophores, which are required for proper re-folding.