The Ontological and Cultural Genesis of Forms of Memorization: Replication of the Experiments of A.N. Leontiev

Information is presented from a replication of the experiments of A.N. Leontiev (1928), and the ontological and cultural genesis of direct and mediated memorization is traced. It was confirmed that each form of memorization develops with a different degree of productivity and in different ways. No confirmation was found for A.N. Leontiev’s postulate that the ontogenesis of memorization is subject to the “parallelogram principle.” The relationship between forms of memorization and the time and nature of mnemic activity is shown. A pronounced decrease was found in the productivity of memorization processes among present-day schoolchildren and undergraduates as compared with the schoolchildren and undergraduates tested by A.N. Leontiev.     

Some aspects of oögenesis in the stable fly Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae)

Two distinct patterns of blood ingestion in the female stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans L. were observed, based on whether or not the female was mated. Mating is not required for oögenesis, but is necessary for oviposition. Virgin females develop eggs but, in the absence of mating, they retain eggs until death. In stable flies, oögenesis appears to be atypical among other dipterans as the penultimate follicles develop and deposit up to 50% yolk before the terminal follicles are matured. Oösorption was seen in the penultimate follicles of virgin females retaining eggs. Accessory-gland implants initiated oviposition in virgin females. However, the total number of eggs laid by such females was 50% less than the number of eggs laid by mated flies.     

试论我国沙漠地区植物区系的发生与形成

本文对前人的“关于我国沙漠地区的植物区系的发生和形成”的不同观点进行了概括,井着重对我国沙漠地区起主导作用的古地中海、中亚及蒙古区系成分中有影响的植物属种及其迁移途径进行了分析。我国沙区大部在老第三纪已形成了亚热带旱生植物。但由于地域辽阔,其形成既非统一的古老性,也不全年轻,而是因地而异。本文根据(1)地理位置、地形、受古地中海海浸海退、冰川的消长、高山的屏障作用、距海洋的远近以及印度板块的影响,(2)区系成分中的特有属种、寡种属,特征种、间断分布等,将我国沙区分为准噶尔盆地、塔里木盆地、柴达木盆地、阿拉善荒漠、东部草原区沙地五片,并讨论了其区系成分的来源及形成时期。准噶尔植物区系在第四纪形成,中亚成分占主导作用。塔里木盆地植物区系在老第三纪就已发生,第三纪形成,第四纪有新发展。柴达木盆地在新第三纪上新世已形成温带荒漠,第四纪有新发展。阿拉善荒漠植物区系在第三纪已形成,第四纪也有新发展。东部草原区沙地第四纪在几个中心同时发生,其成分包括蒙古、亚洲中部、东亚、华北等区系。     

植物冠瘿生长调控及相关基因研究进展

阐述了植物冠瘿产生的影响因素及冠瘿的生长和调控,并对冠瘿发生有关的基因进行了综述。     

雄激素受体在肝癌发生过程中的表达及意义

为了进一步探讨雄激素受体（ＡｎｄｒｏｇｅｎＲｅｃｅｐｔｏｒ,ＡＲ）作为肝癌标志物的意义,本文采用免疫组织化学ＡＢＣ法,对二乙基亚硝胺（ＤＥＮ）诱发大鼠肝癌发生过程中肝细胞雄激素受体（ＡＲ）的表达进行了系统观察。结果显示：正常大鼠的ＡＲ阳性肝细胞极少,ＤＥＮ诱癌第４周可见少量肝细胞呈ＡＲ阳性表达,细胞散在分布,胞质和／或胞核内可见棕褐色阳性反应颗粒。随着肝癌发展进程,ＡＲ阳性肝细胞数逐渐增多,呈簇状或片状分布。至诱癌第１８周,肝癌结节内肝癌细胞大多呈ＡＲ阳性表达。本实验结果表明,ＡＲ与肝癌的发生和发展具有密切关系     

Ecdysteroids during oögenesis in the ovoviviparous cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea

By using thin-layer chromatography and high-pressure liquid chromatography combined with radioimmunoassay as well as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry we have identified and quantified ecdysteroids in ovaries and haemolymph of adult female Nauphoeta cinerea. Our analyses demonstrate the presence of ecdysone and 20-hydroxyecdysone, the latter being clearly predominant in all stages investigated. Titre determinations of free ecdysteroids in ovaries show that the 20-hydroxyecdysone concentration is highest (approximately 400 ng/g) at the beginning of chorion formation, suggesting an involvement in this process. Towards ovulation, the titre of free ecdysteroid drops and is low in the newly ovulated egg case. Measurement of immunoreactive highly polar products demonstrates that their concentration remains on a low level throughout the oöcyte maturation period; hydrolysis experiments with Helix pomatia enzymes reveal that, compared to the free ecdysteroids in the ovary, only small quantities of ecdysteroids are present as Helix hydrolysable conjugates. If one compares the quantities of free ecdysteroids in the ovary with those in the haemolymph it becomes apparent that the concentration in the haemolymph is about 10 times lower than that in the ovary.In vitro incubation of follicle cells from oöcytes at stages around chorion formation reveals that these cells are able to produce ecdysone and 20-hydroxyecdysone, and incubation with [³H]-ecdysone demonstrates that ecdysone is efficiently converted to 20-hydroxyecdysone in a stage-dependent manner. These observations strongly suggest that the follicle cells are the site of ecdysteroid biosynthesis and of C-20-ecdysone hydroxylation.A comparison of these findings with observations made of other insects such as locusts and mosquitoes demonstrates significant differences in quality, composition, titre fluctuation and distribution of ecdysteroids in adult females from different species and suggests that these ecdysteroids might fulfil multiple and various biological functions.     

Haemolymph ecdysteroid in the housefly,Musca domestica,during oögenesis and its relationship with vitellogenin levels

Ecdysteroid titre in the haemolymph of the housefly, Musca domestica, cycled during oögenesis and peaked at ～50 pg/μl during stages 5, 6 and 7. Levels of 10–20 pg/μl were found in houseflies with pre- and post-vitellogenic ovaries. Removal of the corpus allatum and corpus cardiacum complex resulted in low ecdysteroid levels (10 pg/μl). Ovariectomized flies also had lower ecdysteroid levels than the controls at 2 days (5 pg/μl) after emergence but not at 6 days (22 pg/μl). It is possible that the ecdysteroid peak that occurred during stages 5, 6 and 7 was produced by the ovaries because ovaries secreted and synthesized ecdysteroid in vitro. Endogenous haemolymph ecdysteroid levels had a linear correlation with the amount of vitellogenin that held for hormone concentrations of 5–43 pg/μl. Furthermore, the injection of 20-hydroxyecdysone at doses of 10 ng?1.0 μg/fly increased the amount of vitellogenin from 6 h to 12 h after injection; by 24 h, the vitellogenin returned to control levels. When 20-hydroxyecdysone was injected into ovariectomized flies, it was rapidly degraded and 96% was cleared from the haemolymph within 1 h.     

Comparison of testes structure,spermatogenesis, and spermatocytogenesis in young,aging, and hybrid cichlid fish (Cichlidae,Teleostei)

Testis structure, spermatogenesis, and spermatocytogenesis were compared in 13 species of cichlid fishes, belonging to the subfamilies Haplochrominae and Tilapinae. The species studied were either mouth brooders, in which fertilization occurs mostly inside the mouth of the brooding fish, or substrate brooders, whose eggs adhere to a substrate over which the sperm is ejaculated. In this study, the embryogenesis of testes anlagen and sperm production was followed in embryos and in fish up to 15 years old, as well as in hybrids of the two subfamilies. In cichlids, the testes are of the unrestricted type and primary spermatogonia develop along the entire length of the developing sperm tubule. The first primary spermatogonia are observed in the testes anlagen 2-5 days after fertilization and they continue to develop in cysts formed by the enveloping Sertoli cells and the intertubular elements. The dimensions of such primary and secondary spermatocysts are correlated with the number of spermatogonia they contain and the corresponding number of mitotic multiplications. The largest mature cysts attained 300 microm, and contained 2,200-2,400 spermatids in the mouth-brooding species and 2,600-3,200 in the substrate-brooding species. Despite the fact that in such cysts cytoplasmic bridges connect only the isogamete spermatids, the maturation of all cells and consequent spermiation is synchronized. Meristic characters distinguish the sperm of mouth brooders from those of substrate brooders, especially in the number of mitochondria and length of the flagellum. In older fish and hybrids, various changes can be seen in the gametogenic epithelium and intertubular cells. These include thickening of the connective tissue, formation of "yellow" groups of Leydig cells, cell apoptosis and degeneration, and, especially, formation of large spermatogonia, with large, electron-dense nucleoli, that have the cytological characteristics of oocytes. The intra- and interspecific variability of sperm dimensions in the studied cichlids poses an interesting question in the context of sperm competition.     

Reproductive effort of Mastocarpus papillatus (Rhodophyta) along the California coast1

Species with sexual and asexual life cycles may exhibit intraspecific differences in reproductive effort. The spatial separation of sexual and asexual lineages, called geographic parthenogenesis, is common in plants, animals, and algae. Mastocarpus papillatus is a well‐documented case of geographic parthenogenesis in which sexuals dominate southern populations, asexuals dominate northern popula‐tions, whereas mixed populations occur throughout central California. We quantified abundances and reproductive effort of sexual and asexual fronds and tetrasporophytes at eight sites in California to test the hypotheses that (1) reduced sexual reproduction at higher latitudes and tidal heights explains the observed geographic parthenogenesis and (2) reproductive effort (spore production per blade area) declines with increasing latitude. Abundances of all phases varied site‐specifically. However, there was no geographic pattern of reproductive effort of fronds. Reproductive effort of fronds was greater in 2006 than in 2007 and correlated with sea surface temperatures. Sexual fronds exhibited greater reproductive effort than did asexual fronds and sexual reproductive effort was also inversely correlated with local upwelling index. Tetrasporophytes showed greater repro‐ductive effort in northern sites, but total supply of tetraspores per m² was greatest in the middle of the sampling range where crusts were more abundant. There was no decline of reproductive effort at higher latitudes. Geographic patterns of fecundity of life stages do not explain geographic parthe‐nogenesis in M. papillatus. Site‐specific differences in viability among spores or established thalli of different life cycles may explain their respective geographic distributions, as the sexual and asexual life cycles responded differently to environmental variations.     

Maturation and hatching of eggs from silkworm ovaries preserved in liquid nitrogen

Ovarian imaginal discs prepared from fifth-instar larvae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori were treated with graded concentrations of glycerol, cooled at a rate of 1°C/min to ?35°C and preserved in liquid nitrogen for 2 days or more and then rapidly thawed (500°C/min). The frozen and thawed ovaries were transplanted into fifth-instar female larvae, in which more than 20% of the ovaries developed to produce mature eggs with a chorion according to the state of host development. By parthenogenetic activation, the mature eggs started embryogenesis and hatched to produce larvae. About 50% hatching occurred in the eggs developed in a C 108 × Cambodge host, and about 10% in a C 108 × Aojuku host. The hatched larvae completed post-embryonic development as did the normal larvae.