Dragons in Distress: Naturalists as Bioactivists in the Campaign to Save the American Alligator

This article explores the scientific and environmental activism of a group of naturalists who not only studied but also advocated on behalf of an unlikely organism: the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). A large, toothy reptile that once inhabited wetlands across much of the southeastern United States, the alligator had long been reviled as a fearsome predator and pursued as a valuable commodity. At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries, a small group of naturalists began to note its precipitous decline and to issue calls for its protection. Initially they tended to do so working individually, largely within the pages of scientific and governmental publications devoted to the species. By the middle of the twentieth century, however, as habitat destruction joined commodification to further threaten the alligator, naturalists banded together with state officials, conservationists, and other wildlife enthusiasts to form the American Alligator Council. That organization not only promoted research on the alligator but also secured local, state, and federal protection of the increasingly beleaguered species, thereby snatching it from the jaws of impending extinction. The naturalists examined in this article were not only producers and purveyors of knowledge, then; they were also bioactivists, biologists with a strong political agenda who firmly embraced the practice of engaging in the public sphere.     

芽变毛白杨形态解剖和同功酶初步分析

目的:为了解芽变毛白杨(以下称芽变杨)新品种的特点及融合亲本。方法:试验以芽变杨、毛白杨和大官杨为研究对象,进行形态学、同功酶等分析。结果:在外部形态上芽变杨既有毛白杨和大官杨的特点,具有两亲本折中的形态。显微观察,导管壁较厚,管腔占木质部的比例小。同功酶谱带具有两亲本特有的条带,这为芽变杨是大官杨和毛白杨两者的融合突变提供了直接证据。     

Anti-initiating activity of 3beta-methoxy-13alpha,14alpha-epoxyserratan-21beta-ol (PJJ-34) from the stem bark of Picea jezoensis Carr. var. jezoensis

Ultraviolet light is the major cause of skin cancers in human, and several effects of ultraviolet light B (UVB) are thought to contribute to skin photocarcinogenesis. 3Beta-methoxy-13alpha,14alpha-epoxyserratan-21beta-ol (PJJ-34; 1) isolated from Picea jezoensis Carr. var. jezoensis showed the strongest antitumor-promoting activity among naturally occurring triterpenoids in the in vivo two-stage mouse skin-carcinogenesis test. To investigate the anti-initiating activity, we further studied mouse models initiated with ultraviolet-B (UVB) and promoted with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Oral administration of the PJJ-34 (1) during a period before and after the three times of UVB irradiation led to a remarkable effect: oral administration of a 0.0025% solution of 1 only to the test group, which started one week before and ended one week after the irradiation, showed less than half papillomas, and inhibition of tumor incidence and tumor multiplicity in comparison to the control group. Therefore, it was recognized that PJJ-34 (1) showed strong anti-initiating activity as well as anti-promoting activity. After all, 1 seems to be useful as cancer-chemopreventive agent.     

沟灌水氮耦合对毛白杨林木生长及水氮吸收利用的影响

为探索沟灌水氮耦合对幼年生毛白杨林木生长及水氮吸收利用的影响,以4年生砂地三倍体毛白杨为对象,研究3个灌溉水平(W₂₀、W₃₃、W₄₅,即沟渠正下方40 cm土壤水势分别达到-20、-33和-45 kPa时灌溉),4个施N水平(N₁₂₀、N₁₉₀、N₂₆₀、N₀,即施肥量为120、190、260和0 kg·hm^-2·a^-1)和自然条件(对照,CK)下幼年生毛白杨林木生长和水氮吸收利用规律,并结合林木生长状况,分析4年生三倍体毛白杨的最佳沟灌水氮耦合策略。结果表明:W₂₀N₁₂₀(高水低肥;土壤水势-20 kPa,施N量120 kg·hm^-2·a^-1)处理对三倍体毛白杨的林地生产力提升最为显著,其林地生产力最高可达33.37 m³·hm^-2·a^-1,仅有树高和总株生物量受到水氮耦合交互作用的显著影响。增加灌溉量或施N量都会提高林木吸氮量,但吸氮量主要受施N量影响;W₂₀N₂₆₀处理总株吸氮量最高,达112.17 kg·hm^-2·a^-1,较CK增加74.0%。各处理中,W₂₀N₁₂₀氮吸收效率和氮肥偏生产力最高,且显著高于其他处理,其总株、地上部、地下部氮吸收效率可达36.8%、28.5%、6.4%,总株氮肥偏生产力可达221.4 kg·kg^-1。不同水氮耦合处理灌水量对灌溉水的利用效率影响显著,其中,W₄₅N₂₆₀灌溉水利用效率最高,达13.66 g·kg^-1;而W₂₀N₁₂₀吸水量和水吸收效率最高,分别为13268.28 t·hm^-2和129.4%。为达到较大的收益,在三倍体毛白杨的幼年生长期间,应保持充足的水分灌溉(-20 kPa)和相对偏低的施氮量(120 kg·hm^-2·a^-1)促进幼年生毛白杨的生长发育。     

Heat-induced Gelation of Myosin from Leg and Breast Muscles of Chicken

Heat-induced gelation of myosin from leg and breast muscles of chicken was studied in 0.6 m KC1. Gel strength of breast myosin was higher than that of leg myosin between pH 5.2 and 6.0. Turbidity of breast myosin increased below pH 6.0 but that of leg myosin did not increase at pH 5.7. Turbidity of leg myosin was higher than that of breast myosin below pH 5.6. Viscosity of breast myosin increased between pH 5.5 and 6.0 as the pH decreases, although that of leg myosin decreased. The breast myosin assembled to form long filaments at pH 5.7, but leg myosin failed to form long filaments. At pH 5.4, breast myosin filaments became longer and leg myosin assembled into filaments though they were shorter than breast myosin filaments. The strength of heat-induced gel formed from the filamentous leg and breast myosins at acidic region was not influenced by F-actin. These results indicate that the strength of heat-induced gel of both myosins is closely related to their morphological properties.     

Root biomass distribution of triploid Populus tomentosa under wide- and narrow-row spacing planting schemes and its responses to soil nutrients

三倍体毛白杨(triploid Populus tomentosa)是我国华北地区主要纸浆林品种, 在该地区多采用宽窄行模式栽植。为基于根系结构特征制定该模式下毛白杨人工林高效水肥管理策略和明确影响其根系空间分布的主要因子, 在5年生林分中于8株样树周围挖取2106个土柱, 研究该栽植模式下毛白杨根系生物量的空间分布特征, 并分析了细根垂直分布对土壤有机质、速效磷和碱解氮等的响应。结果表明, 一维垂向上, 宽行内细根根重密度(FRBD)在0-30 cm土层中随深度增加而递减, 但在30 cm以下土层呈均匀分布(p = 0.079); 窄行内FRBD呈“双峰”分布, 即在0-20 cm (22%)和70-110 cm (31%)土层均有较多细根分布; 10-150 cm各土层中, 窄行FRBD较宽行高17%-148%。宽、窄行内, 随深度增加, 粗根根重密度(CRBD)均呈先增后减变化, 而细根粗根比(F/C)无显著变化(p > 0.05), 窄行平均F/C较宽行高60%。一维径向上, 宽、窄行内FRBD均呈近均匀分布, 而CRBD和F/C均随距离增加分别显著递减和增大。二维尺度上, FRBD在窄行内分布相对均匀, 但在宽行内主要集中在表土层且随距离增加细根浅层化程度增强; CRBD在树干两侧呈“不对称”分布; 垂向0-20 cm、径向160-300 cm范围是宽行内平均FRBD和F/C较高区域, 分别为宽行相应指标总平均的2.8和1.1倍。FRBD在0-30 cm土层中随土壤有机质、速效磷和碱解氮含量的增加而逐渐增大, 但在30 cm以下土层中无明显变化趋势。研究结果表明, 宽、窄行间毛白杨根系分布的差异性主要体现在细根一维垂直分布和细根、粗根二维分布上。土壤有机质、速效磷和碱解氮是0-30 cm土层中毛白杨细根垂直分布的重要影响因子, 但对下层土壤中根系分布无影响。对宽窄行栽植的毛白杨林分灌溉时, 灌溉水应供给到窄行区域; 施肥时, 缓释肥和速效肥应分别浅施在宽行中央附近和窄行内。     

ABA对毛白杨抗冻性影响的研究

采用正交试验的方法设计了以ABA水溶液对毛白杨枝条进行水培的处理条件,并让每个处理接受两种低温条件,用电导法测定其伤害程度,得出冰冻1h和3h条件下的最佳水培条件为：ABA浓度30umol／L,无光照条件下水培2h。分别研究了脱落酸浓度、水培时间、水培光照条件对植物抗冻性的影响。     

海南省首次发现光合软体动物绒毛海天牛北大核心CSCD

本文首次报道了光合软体动物Elysia tomentosa K.R.Jensen,1997在我国海南省的分布情况。2021年9月,本课题组在海南省文昌市云龙湾采集到该物种,通过线粒体基因组核糖体16S rRNA以及组蛋白H3基因(H3)位点部分DNA序列比对,确定该物种为Elysia tomentosa。参考该物种学名并根据其外部形态特征,建议该物种中文学名为“绒毛海天牛”。通过聚合酶链式反应(PCR)鉴定其生活环境中的藻类,确定了该物种共生叶绿体的来源为总状蕨藻(Caulerpa racemose);利用叶绿素荧光诱导曲线,检测了绒毛海天牛的光合荧光特征。这是本课题组在海南省沿海地区发现分布的又一种光合软体动物,进一步丰富了对海南岛沿岸海天牛分布的认知,也为研究光合作用的进化与内共生机理提供新的研究材料。