Biologically meaningful coverage indicators for eliminating malaria transmission

Mosquitoes, which evade contact with long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual sprays, by feeding outdoors or upon animals, are primary malaria vectors in many tropical countries. They can also dominate residual transmission where high coverage of these front-line vector control measures is achieved. Complementary strategies, which extend insecticide coverage beyond houses and humans, are required to eliminate malaria transmission in most settings. The overwhelming diversity of the world's malaria transmission systems and optimal strategies for controlling them can be simply conceptualized and mapped across two-dimensional scenario space defined by the proportion of blood meals that vectors obtain from humans and the proportion of human exposure to them which occurs indoors.     

城市绿化带植被覆盖度对盐碱地土壤盐分的调节

城市绿化带土壤盐渍化成为近年来城镇化发展亟待解决的环境问题,本试验系统研究兰州新区城市绿化带植被覆盖度和不同肥力措施对盐碱地盐分的调节。结果表明“七叶树（Aesculus chinensis Bunge）+花叶楸（Catalpa bungei C.）+四季玫瑰（Rosa rugosa Thunb.）”的景观组合Ⅱ,在有机肥添加微生物菌剂的处理下,一个生长季平均植被覆盖度高达70.06%,表土脱盐率能达到53.51%,而“裸地”对照仅分别为20.62%和5.46%。景观组合Ⅱ处理pH值和电导率分别下降了12.54%和63.83%,“裸地”仅下降了3.14%和12.28%。相关性分析（P<0.05）表明,植被覆盖度与土壤含盐量（r=-0.949）高度负相关,与土壤有机质（r=0.887）和全氮（r=0.853）高度正相关。本研究认为,通过增加绿化带植被覆盖度、改善土壤肥力能有效改良盐碱地土壤盐分。     

川西亚高山针叶林土壤微生物及酶对林下植物去除的响应

生物多样性与生态系统功能的关系是生态学领域研究的热点与难点。但因受研究手段的限制,有关森林物种组成及其多样性变化对土壤微生物数量和酶活性影响的研究少有报道。采用人工去除灌草层的实验方法,研究了川西亚高山针叶林灌草层丧失对土壤微生物数量和酶活性的影响。结果表明:1)灌草层去除后,土壤细菌和真菌数量以CK(对照)RH(除草)RS(除灌),而土壤放线菌数量则以RHCKRS;2)灌草层去除后,土壤微生物群落构成发生改变,真菌比例有所下降;3)灌草层去除后,土壤酶活性随之发生变化,各种酶活性均以CKRHRS。表明林下灌草层去除,尤其是灌木层去除,导致土壤微生物数量下降、群落构成发生变化以及土壤酶活性下降,从而在一定程度上影响到森林生态系统的物质循环功能。     

内蒙古温带典型草原围封十年草灌景观格局动态

通过样方调查和差分GPS法,研究内蒙古典型草原围封10年后灌木和草本盖度、生物量动态以及植被时空分布格局的变化。结果显示:草本盖度和生物量以2010年为拐点先减少后增加,灌木盖度和生物量呈现增加的趋势,样地整体植被生产力显著恢复。2010年以后,样地景观格局发生变化,小叶锦鸡儿灌丛斑块表现出破碎化程度和蔓延度先增加后减少的趋势。研究认为:(1)2012年之前为干旱期,草本生产力下降,且灌、草之间的竞争关系加剧了这一过程。(2)2012年之后降水增加,草本生产力先于灌木迅速恢复;景观尺度上小叶锦鸡儿灌丛斑块破碎化程度达到最高,是小叶锦鸡儿克隆生长的扩张过程所致。(3)2012年之后为湿润时期,小叶锦鸡儿对草本的生长存在促进作用,使生态系统逐渐恢复和重建。     

内蒙古不同类型草原光合植被覆盖度对降水变化的响应

植被是影响土壤侵蚀过程的重要因素。论文基于MODIS遥感数据和同期降水数据,用相关和回归分析方法从不同时间尺度揭示了内蒙古草甸草原、典型草原和荒漠草原2002—2016年光合植被覆盖度(Fractional Photosynthetic Vegetation,f_PV)的变化规律及其对降水变化的响应。结果表明:(1)2002—2016年间多年平均f_PV草甸草原为46.5%,典型草原和荒漠草原分别为36.3%和22.4%;草甸草原f_PV随时间变化呈不显著增长趋势(线性变化斜率为0.29%/a),典型草原和荒漠草原f_PV呈不显著下降趋势(线性变化斜率分别为-0.04%/a和-0.21%/a);相应时期年降水量随时间变化都呈现不显著波动上升趋势。(2)内蒙古草原的月植被覆盖度对月降水量存在明显的1—2个月滞后效应和显著的累积效应,且表现出草原类型越干旱,滞后效应越明显的特征;相比草甸草原和典型草原,荒漠草原植被对降水量变化更加敏感。(3)内蒙古3类草原年平均植被覆盖度对降水量的响应,均表现出年、季、月尺度上...     

Highly precise breakpoint detection of chromosome balanced translocation in chronic myelogenous leukaemia: Case series

Chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) has a special phenomenon of chromosome translocation, which is called Philadelphia chromosome translocation. However, the detailed connection of this structure is troublesome and expensive to be identified. Low‐coverage whole genome sequencing (LCWGS) could not only detect the previously unknown chromosomal translocation, but also provide the breakpoint candidate small region (with an accuracy of ±200 bases). Importantly, the sequencing cost of LCWGS is about US$300. Then, with the Sanger DNA sequencing, the precise breakpoint can be determined at a single base level. In our project, with LCWGS, BCR and ABL1 are successfully identified to be disrupted in three CML patients (at chr22:23,632,356 and chr9:133,590,450; chr22:23,633,748 and chr9:133,635,781; chr22: 23,631,831 and chr9:133,598,513, respectively). Due to the reconnection after chromosome breakage, classical fusion gene (BCR::ABL1) was found in bone marrow and peripheral blood. The precise breakpoints were helpful to investigate the pathogenic mechanism of CML and could better guide the classification of CML subtypes. This LCWGS method is universal and can be used to detect all diseases related to chromosome variation, such as solid tumours, liquid tumours and birth defects.     

The impact of shrub browsing by mountain hare and reindeer in subarctic Sweden

Background: Climate warming has been causing an increase in tall shrub cover around the Arctic, however, mammalian herbivory has been shown to inhibit shrub expansion. Though the effect of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and many other mammals has been widely studied in this context, the role of the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) in subarctic Scandinavia remains unknown.

Aims: To quantify browsing from mountain hare and reindeer on tall shrubs in different vegetation types and to investigate differences in shrub preference between the two.

Methods: In the summers of 2013 and 2014, we counted signs of browsing by hare and reindeer on tall shrub species in 31 study plots at three alpine locations in the Scandes range, Sweden.

Results: Hare browsing was significantly more frequent than that by reindeer in two (dry-mesic heath and dry meadow) out of seven vegetation types studied. Reindeer browsing was significantly higher in the low herb meadow and Långfjället shrub heath. Two shrub species, Betula nana and Salix hastata, were significantly more browsed by hare, while reindeer browsing was significantly higher on S. phylicifolia and S. lapponum.

Conclusions: Our results show that mountain hares can cause extensive damage to tall shrubs in the subarctic and may have a stronger impact on shrub communities than previously recognised.     

Optimizing sequence coverage for a moderate mass protein in nano-electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Sample pretreatment was optimized to obtain high sequence coverage for human serum albumin (HSA, 66.5 kDa) when using nano-electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (nESI–Q-TOF–MS). Use of the final method with trypsin, Lys-C, and Glu-C digests gave a combined coverage of 98.8%. The addition of peptide fractionation resulted in 99.7% coverage. These results were comparable to those obtained previously with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI–TOF–MS). The sample pretreatment/nESI–Q-TOF–MS method was also used with collision-induced dissociation to analyze HSA digests and to identify peptides that could be employed as internal mass calibrants in future studies of modifications to HSA.