Genetic analysis of transpositions in the lac region of Escherichia coli

The lac region of Escherichia coli, carried on an F′ lacproB episome, was used as a target for the transposition of several transposable elements. Tn9 shows a preferential integration (by a factor of 50) into a region extending from the end of the Z gene through the Y gene. Throughout the remainder of the lacI, Z and Y genes one other short region, located in the middle of the I gene, is favored for integration. Within these favored regions many different integration points are evident. Inspection of the DNA sequence for the I and Y genes, and parts of the Z gene, shows a strong correlation between A + T richness and regions of preferential integration. Tn5 insertions follow a similar pattern, although with less preference; whereas Tn10 insertions (provided by T. J. Foster), also favor the Y gene and the end of Z, but are distributed among fewer integration points. Most of the Tn3 insertions into the episome are accompanied by a nearby or adjacent deletion.     

The origin of the Hominidae: Africa or Asia?

The authors review the evidence for the evolution of the apes and their geographical expansion out of Africa during the Miocene. The ecological background is discussed at each period.From this it is concluded that Dryopithecines in either Africa or Eurasia could have given rise to early Hominidae and that the ecological conditions in both continents were suitable for the appearance of Hominid adaptations.The evidence for early Hominids is at present more impressive in Eurasia than in Africa, though the African find from Fort Ternan, Kenya, is the earliest. On present evidence, neither continent can be precluded as the place of origin of the Hominidae and it appears to be a possibility that Hominidae evolved in both continents with intermittent gene exchange.     

Studies on normal human bone marrow cultures in controlled environment thin-film culture systems

Summary Two thin film culture systems, the controlled environment steady state system (SS) and the rocker tube configuration of that system (RT), were used to identify some of the conditions that appear to maintain morphologic and functional characteristics of cells of human bone marrow explants in vitro. The systems configuration assured continual gassing, control and easy monitoring of the cultures. Cytocentrifuge preparations of media of specimens cultured in RT disclosed, though in decreasing numbers, various hematopoietic cells for periods exceeding one month. Hematopoietic cells shed from specimens cultured in the SS system were retained in the culture tubes; cells of the myelocytic series predominated for the first 2 weeks while an increasing number of monocytes and macrophages appeared in the media of older cultures. Histologic examination of cultured explants disclosed preservation of the marrow architecture and the persistence of hematopoietic cells. Specimens cultured in RT tubes tended to be less cellular than similar cultures placed in dialysis bags or as cultured in the SS system. Immunoglobulins (Ig) were released into the culture media at a constant rate throughout the period of culture. Specimens that were cultured at a controlled pH of 7.4 released 2 to more than 4 times as much Ig as similar specimens maintained at a pH level of 7.1. There were no definitive differences in Ig levels in the cultures maintained at comparable pH levels and overlaid with various CO₂ concentrations, i.e. 2%, 5%, 10%; similarly, no differences in Ig levels were found in specimens cultured in media containing fetal bovine sera as opposed to horse sera. Supported by U.S.P.H.S. Grant CA-5834 from the National Cancer Institute. Department of Medicine A. Department of Cell Physiology Department of Immunology and Immunochemistry.     

肠杆菌科细菌耐药基因表达的遗传和环境调控

细菌耐药性是21世纪国际关注的重要问题,也是全球面临的重大挑战.肠杆菌科细菌是医院感染的重要病原菌之一.近年来,随着抗生素的大量使用,多种肠杆菌科耐药菌,尤其是多重耐药肠杆菌开始大量出现,对人类健康形成了日益严重的威胁.细菌可以通过耐药基因突变或水平转移的方式获得耐药性,通常情况下,可以通过已知的耐药机制预测相应的耐药...     

Guidelines for model adaptation: A study of the transferability of a general seagrass ecosystem Dynamic Bayesian Networks model

In general, it is not feasible to collect enough empirical data to capture the entire range of processes that define a complex system, either intrinsically or when viewing the system from a different geographical or temporal perspective. In this context, an alternative approach is to consider model transferability, which is the act of translating a model built for one environment to another less well‐known situation. Model transferability and adaptability may be extremely beneficial—approaches that aid in the reuse and adaption of models, particularly for sites with limited data, would benefit from widespread model uptake. Besides the reduced effort required to develop a model, data collection can be simplified when transferring a model to a different application context. The research presented in this paper focused on a case study to identify and implement guidelines for model adaptation. Our study adapted a general Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBN) of a seagrass ecosystem to a new location where nodes were similar, but the conditional probability tables varied. We focused on two species of seagrass (Zostera noltei and Zostera marina) located in Arcachon Bay, France. Expert knowledge was used to complement peer‐reviewed literature to identify which components needed adjustment including parameterization and quantification of the model and desired outcomes. We adopted both linguistic labels and scenario‐based elicitation to elicit from experts the conditional probabilities used to quantify the DBN. Following the proposed guidelines, the model structure of the general DBN was retained, but the conditional probability tables were adapted for nodes that characterized the growth dynamics in Zostera spp. population located in Arcachon Bay, as well as the seasonal variation on their reproduction. Particular attention was paid to the light variable as it is a crucial driver of growth and physiology for seagrasses. Our guidelines provide a way to adapt a general DBN to specific ecosystems to maximize model reuse and minimize re‐development effort. Especially important from a transferability perspective are guidelines for ecosystems with limited data, and how simulation and prior predictive approaches can be used in these contexts.     

环境因子对河流底栖无脊椎动物群落结构的影响

底栖无脊椎动物是河流生态系统的重要组成部分,在物质循环和能量流动中是不可或缺的重要环节。其群落结构特点与河流环境因子密切相关,能较好地反映河流生态系统健康状况。综述了物理因子(底质、温度、水深、水流、洪水干扰等)、化学因子(溶氧量、p H值、磷、氮等)、生物因子(水生植物、竞争和捕食)、人为干扰(电站建设、城镇化等)和综合因子对河流底栖无脊椎动物群落结构的影响,并根据国内外研究现状指出水流、海拔和洪水干扰等环境因子对河流底栖无脊椎动物群落结构影响的研究较少或不足,对这些环境因子的研究应是今后河流生态学领域需要着力推进重要内容。深入研究和完善环境因子与底栖无脊椎动物群落结构的关系可为保护底栖无脊椎动物群落、流域水生态系统管理和受损河流生态系统修复提供更为全面的科学依据。     

土地利用碳排放效应及其低碳管理研究进展

土地利用是造成全球温室气体排放量迅猛增长的重要因素,但由于土地利用的碳排放在时间和空间上受社会经济活动与自然过程的共同作用,相对自然生态系统碳排放的过程和机制更加复杂,因此,其研究也越来越多地受到包括学者、政府决策者、企业、非政府组织等利益相关者的关注,并被诸多能源与生态环境领域的国内外重大科学研究计划列为核心内容。通过对土地利用的直接和间接碳排放效应及其低碳管理的国内外研究进展进行综述,较全面地对上述研究中已取得的成果以及尚存在的不足与挑战进行了总结,并对未来研究应如何完善现有研究的不足提出了几点展望,以期为科学编制低碳目标导向的土地利用规划提供理论基础和实践管理经验,从而全面引导城市的低碳发展。     

不同颜色遮阳网遮光对丘陵茶园夏秋茶和春茶产量及主要生化成分的影响

为研究不同颜色遮阳网遮光对夏秋茶与春茶产量和品质的影响,在中国科学院桃源农业生态试验站以“碧香早”茶树为试验材料,选用不遮光和中度遮光（遮光率(50?4)%）的黑色、绿色、银灰色遮阳网开展遮光试验。结果表明：不同季节使用黑色遮阳网能显著增加氨基酸和咖啡碱含量,降低茶多酚含量和酚氨比,与对照茶园比较,夏季、秋季、春季茶叶氨基酸含量分别增加了14.22%、17.07%、6.23%,茶多酚含量分别降低了4.40%、6.43%、27.66%,咖啡碱含量分别增加了9.48%、8.10%、7.28%。夏秋季银灰色遮阳网效果最差,绿色遮阳网效果介于黑色和对照之间,春季三种颜色遮阳网效果均优于对照;茶树遮光后品质明显优于对照,夏秋茶经遮光可达到制高档茶的要求,春茶遮光可达到制名优茶的要求。     

长株潭城市群生态屏障研究

构筑城市(群)生态屏障是我国生态建设的重点之一。高速城市化进程中,城市范围、征用土地、人口数量、建设规模不断扩大,生态安全形势日益严峻,生态环境保护压力不断加大。长株潭城市群是国家"两型"社会建设试验区,生态屏障建设备受关注。在广泛开展社会调研、专项调查、专题研究、学术讨论的基础上,根据景观生态学和保护生物学的相关原理,通过对区域生态压力、需求、承载力的分析,借助RS、GIS、GPS等现代高新技术,科学区划长株潭城市群生态屏障的空间层级、结构、布局、功能区,明确了各功能区的建设方向、目标,提出了分区管理和分级保护等具体空间管治措施,规划2020年前保护建设工程项目。研究结果表明,城市群必须根据生态环境承载能力,按生态隔离组团方式科学布局城市空间,预留足够的生态基地,优先构筑稳固的生态屏障;按照主体功能区划和目标定位,严格管治和合理布局生态用地,加强部门规划统筹协调,依法严格保护森林和湿地;加强公共财政转移支付和社会融资力度,抓紧实施生态屏障工程建设,努力改善环境质量,维护区域生态平衡,努力实现资源节约、环境友好、提高城市品位和综合竞争能力的社会发展目标。研究结果可为城市生态屏障建设提供科学方法和依据,同时也可为全国其它城市(群)生态屏障建设提供参考和借鉴。     

鼎湖山森林地表水水质状况分析

对鼎湖山生物圈保护区内两溪流水源水质状况进行了调查,结果发现：①鼎湖山地表水总体水质较好,符合地面水环境质量标准的I类水源水质标准。区内水体受污染程度低,绝大多数指标均符合饮用水卫生标准。②水体pH值较低,Al含量较高,总有机碳测定表现出整个水体受到一定程度的有机污染。水体中有害金属Mn和Pb含量略高,但都远低于饮用水卫生标准。③对地表水来源过程环节的水化学分析比较表明：大气降水、穿透水、土壤溶液（30cm层和80cm层）和地表水水样的pH值呈现“M”形变化。酸雨和土壤表层酸化是该区地表水pH值偏低的主要原因。地表水和30cm土壤溶液中的Al浓度分别是大气降水的5倍和8倍,地表水中的Al主要来源于酸雨对土壤的淋溶。地表水中的Na主要来源于大气降水。大气降水Pb浓度是地表水的17倍,林冠吸收富集和土壤固定吸附使地表水中的Pb大幅度降低。穿透水和土壤溶液中的Mn、K、Ca、Mg、Sr比大气降水和地表水浓度高,反映了元素被酸雨淋溶、活化和被植物、土壤吸收吸附的过程。从长远看,尽管在森林保存完好的地区,区域环境的恶化及酸雨对地表水水质的影响仍不容忽视。