Peculiarities of reproductive biology and larval development of the red king crab <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paralithodes camtschaticus</Emphasis> in Peter the Great Bay,Sea of Japan

Based on materials from trawling (2002–2005) and plankton (2004–2006) surveys, some problems of the reproduction biology of the red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815) population from Peter the Great Bay are considered. It was shown that the width of the carapace varied from 105 to 190 mm in female red king crabs with eggs; 50% of the females reached maturity with a carapace width of 112.8 mm. The average individual absolute fecundity of females was 200000 (114000–296000) eggs. A direct linear correlation between fecundity and female carapace width was recorded. The zoeas I–IV of the red king crab occurred in the plankton from the middle of April up to the end of the second decade of May at water temperatures from 2.8 up to 9.3°C. The periods of larval occurrence in plankton in various years correlated with the water temperature, with a temperature decrease, the duration of the pelagic period increased. No direct correlation was revealed between the phytoplankton bloom and larval release. The density of red king crab larvae in Peter the Great Bay did not exceed 0.02–13.3 spec./m³. The maximum concentration of zoeas was recorded in the central part of Ussuriysky Bay.     

Real‐time cell analysis and heat shock protein gene expression in the TcA Tribolium castaneum cell line in response to environmental stress conditions

The rust red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is a pest of stored grain and one of the most studied insect model species. Some of the previous studies involved heat response studies in terms of survival and heat shock protein expression, which are regulated to protect other proteins against environmental stress conditions. In the present study, we characterize the impedance profile with the xCELLigence Real‐Time Cell Analyzer and study the effect of increased temperature in cell growth and viability in the cell line BCIRL‐TcA‐CLG1 (TcA) of T. castaneum. This novel system measures cells behavior in real time and is applied for the first time to insect cells. Additionally, cells are exposed to heat shock, increased salinity, acidic pH and UV‐A light with the aim of measuring the expression levels of Hsp27, Hsp68a, and Hsp83 genes. Results show a high thermotolerance of TcA in terms of cell growth and viability. This result is likely related to gene expression results in which a significant up‐regulation of all studied Hsp genes is observed after 1 h of exposure to 40 °C and UV light. All 3 genes show similar expression patterns, but Hsp27 seems to be the most affected. The results of this study validate the RTCA method and reveal the utility of insect cell lines, real‐time analysis and gene expression studies to better understand the physiological response of insect cells, with potential applications in different fields of biology such as conservation biology and pest management.     

Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of red emitting phosphor La2–xEuxLi0.5Al0.5O4 [x = 0.2–2] with K2NiF4 structure

Europium (Eu)³⁺‐substituted La₂Li_0.5Al_0.5O₄ red emitting phosphors were prepared by a conventional high‐temperature solid‐state reaction method. Powder X‐ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectra and spectrofluorometry were used as vital characterizing tools for the phosphors. The Eu concentration dependence luminescence properties and Judd–Ofelt intensity parameters were investigated and calculated, respectively. All compositions showed an orange red emission (due to the magnetic and electric dipole transitions of the Eu³⁺ ion) with the appropriate Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) colour gamut under near ultraviolet or blue ray light excitation. The calculated critical distance showed that the energy transfer occured between Eu to Eu via an exchange mechanism. The Eu_1.4La_0.6Li_0.5Al_0.5O₄ composition showed the highest red emission intensity with CIE colour saturation compared with that of the commercial Eu‐activated yttrium oxysulfide red phosphor.     

Mitochondrial DNA of pre‐last glacial maximum red deer from NW Spain suggests a more complex phylogeographical history for the species

The major climatic oscillations that characterized the Quaternary had a great influence on the evolution and distribution of several species. During cold periods, the distribution of temperate‐adapted species became fragmented with many surviving in southern refugia (Iberian, Italian, and Balkan Peninsulas). Red deer was one of the species that contracted its original range to southern refugia. Currently, two main lineages have been described for the species: western and eastern. We have analyzed fossils pre‐dating the last glacial maximum (LGM) from Liñares cave (NW Spain) that belongs to the peripheral range of the western clade, and fossils from the Danish Holocene belonging to the central part of the same clade. Phylogenetic analyses place our samples in the western clade. However, some specimens from Liñares represent an early split in the tree along with other pre‐LGM western samples from previous studies. Despite low bootstrap values in the Bayesian phylogenies, haplotype networks connect these foreign haplotypes to the eastern clade. We suggest a mixed phylogeographical model to explain this pattern with range expansions from the east during the expansion phase after the cold periods in marine isotope stage 3. We find slight isolation by distance in post‐LGM populations that could be a consequence of the recolonization from southern refugia after the LGM.     

Effects of peroxidase substrates on the Amplex red/peroxidase assay: antioxidant properties of anthracyclines

Oxidation of Amplex red (AR) by H(2)O(2) in the presence of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) gives rise to an intensely colored product, resorufin. This reaction has been frequently employed for measurements of low concentrations of H(2)O(2) in biological samples. In the current study, we show that alternative peroxidase substrates, such as p-hydroquinone, acetaminophen, anticancer mitoxantrone, and ametantrone, inhibit AR oxidation by consuming H(2)O(2) in a competitive process. In contrast, the anthracycline agents doxorubicin, daunorubicin, and 5-iminodaunorubicin are markedly less efficient as competitors in these reactions, as is salicylic acid. When [H(2)O(2)]>[AR], the generated resorufin was oxidized by HRP and H(2)O(2). In the presence of anthracyclines, this process was inhibited and occurred with a lag time, the duration of which depended on the concentration of anthracycline. We propose that the mechanism of this inhibition is due to the antioxidant activity of anthracyclines involving the reduction of the resorufin-derived phenoxyl radical by the drugs' hydroquinone moiety back to resorufin. In addition to HRP, lactoperoxidase, myeloperoxidase, and HL-60 cells, naturally rich in myeloperoxidase, also supported these reactions. Results of this study suggest that extra caution is needed when using AR to measure cellular H(2)O(2) in the presence of alternative peroxidase substrates. They also demonstrate that the anticancer anthracyclines may function as antioxidants.     

Improved plant regeneration in Capsicum annuum L. from nodal segments

Multiple shoots were induced by culturing nodal explants excised from 1-month-old aseptic seedlings of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Pusa Jwala) on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with (0.1–10 μM) thidiazuron (TDZ). The rate of multiple shoot induction per explant was maximum (14.4 ± 0.06) on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 μM TDZ. Regenerated shoots were elongated well on growth regulator free MS medium. Adventitious roots were induced two weeks after transfer of elongated shoots to MS medium supplemented with auxins (IAA, IBA or NAA) in different concentrations. Optimum root formation frequency was obtained in medium containing 1.0 μM IBA. Ex-vitro rooting was also achieved by pulse treatment with 300 μM IBA for 10 min. Rooted shoots were transplanted in plastic pots containing garden soil (with 90 % survival rate), where they grew well and attained maturity. Regenerated plants were phenotypically and cytologically normal.     

Restoring ecological balance to the British mammal fauna

• 1 The mammal fauna of the British Isles has seen major perturbations since the end of the last ice age, some natural and some anthropogenic. Today, 61 species of terrestrial mammals breed in the British Isles, but only 39 of them are native species, the rest have been introduced. Furthermore, 19 native species have disappeared from the fauna including all the large predators, lynx Lynx lynx, wolf Canis lupus and brown bear Ursus arctos.
• 2 Inevitably, these changes in species composition have been accompanied by major changes in community function including changes in patterns of energy flow through the mammalian community. For example, a high percentage of all the energy now flows through the introduced rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus population and red deer Cervus elaphus, which, in the absence of natural predators, are living at extremely high densities.
• 3 Could the reintroduction of species help to reverse such changes in community structure and function? The successful return to the wild of species such as the Arabian oryx Oryx leucoryx and beaver Castor fiber has shown that reintroductions are certainly possible. However, the impact on community function of returned species is more difficult to evaluate.
• 4 This question is addressed in relation to the consequences for deer populations of any possible reintroduction of the wolf to Scotland. Based on what we know of wolves elsewhere, predictions are made about the likely demography and patterns of killing behaviour of introduced wolves. These values are then used to parameterize a Leslie matrix simulation of the impact of wolves on contemporary populations of red deer in Scotland. The simulations suggest very strongly that wolves are very unlikely to have any significant impact on the high‐density populations of deer now living in the Scottish landscape.

     

Accounting for heterogeneity when estimating stopover duration,timing and population size of red knots along the Luannan Coast of Bohai Bay,China

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长期施用猪粪红壤稻田土壤Cu、Zn累积规律

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