沙丘微地形生境蚁丘分布特征及其对恢复过程的响应

为了阐明沙丘微地形生境蚁丘特征及分布规律对沙丘固定过程的响应规律,以科尔沁沙地为研究区,选择不同固沙阶段沙丘的4个方位（西北、东南、西南、东北）布设调查样地,测定了不同样地的蚁丘密度、直径和高度,分析了不同样地蚁丘特征及空间分布规律。结果表明：（1）流动沙丘背风向（即东南方位）蚁丘密度显著高于其他方位,但从流动沙丘到半流动沙丘,背风向（即东南方位）蚁丘密度显著低于其他方位;从半固定沙丘开始,半固定和固定沙丘微地形对蚁丘密度分布的影响较小。（2）在流动沙丘、半流动沙丘、半固定沙丘,不同微地形生境中蚁丘直径和高度均呈现出相似的分布规律,即东南方位均小于其他方位。在固定沙丘,蚁丘高度表现为东南方位亦较低,但蚁丘直径表现为西南和东北方位显著小于西北方位。（3）在流动沙丘,西北、西南和东南方位上蚁丘空间分布均表现为均匀分布型,而在半流动、半固定和固定沙丘,4个方位上蚁丘空间分布均表现为聚集分布型。（4）相关性分析表明,不同固沙阶段不同微生境下蚁丘密度、高度、直径与植物密度、多样性间的相关性不同。随着固沙阶段演替,不同微生境下蚁丘特征与植物密度、多样性的相关性增强。研究表明,在科尔沁沙地,随着流动沙丘固定和生境逐渐恢复,沙丘不同空间方位上蚁丘密度分布差异缩小,而蚁丘直径和高度仍存在沙丘微地形间显著差异性,并且蚁丘空间方位上均呈现聚集分布状态。     

Could the recycled yarns substitute for the virgin cotton yarns: a comparative LCA

Purpose

Cotton yarns spun from natural fibers are widely used in the apparel industry. Most of waste cotton goods are now disposed by incineration or landfill, which brings resource and environmental challenges to the society. Using the waste cotton to spin yarns is an alternative way to forward a more sustainable future. In this research, two scenarios for the environmental impacts of yarns spun from corresponding fibers are investigated, including recycled cotton fibers and virgin cotton fibers.

Methods

The life cycle assessment (LCA) has been conducted according to the collected data from on-site investigation of typical production factories. The life cycle for the recycled cotton yarn production is divided into five stages, i.e., raw material acquisition, transportation, breaking, mixing, and spinning. The life cycle of virgin cotton yarn production is been divided into four stages, i.e., raw material acquisition, transportation, mixing, and spinning. The functional unit is 1000 kg produced yarns which are used for weaving into the fabrics. Notable impacts on climate change, fossil depletion, water depletion, and human toxicity were observed.

Results

The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results show that environmental impacts of recycled cotton yarns are far less than those of virgin cotton yarns, except for climate change and water depletion. The reason is that the land occupation and irrigation water have great impact on environmental impacts of cotton cultivation. In spinning, the electricity is the key factor whose environmental impacts account for the most in the virgin cotton yarn scenario, while the electricity and water consumptions are the key factors for the recycled cotton yarn scenario in the life cycle of yarn production. The sensitivity analysis indicates that improving energy efficiency can significantly reduce environmental burdens for both the two scenarios. The uncertainty distribution of water depletion, human toxicity, fossil depletion, and climate change of the two scenarios were determined with a 90% confidence interval.

Conclusions

The LCIA results reveal recycled cotton yarn is a viable alternative to relieve resource and environmental pressure. About 0.5 ha of agricultural land can be saved, 6600 kg CO₂ eq can be reduced, and 2783 m³ irrigation water can be saved by using 1000 kg of the recycled cotton yarns. It can be concluded that the recycled cotton fibers can be served as a substitute for virgin cotton fibers to reduce agricultural land and avoid environmental impacts generated from the cotton planting.

     

凉山州新银合欢根瘤菌的共生有效性及遗传多样性

【目的】研究分离自四川凉山州新银合欢根瘤菌的遗传多样性和共生有效性。【方法】采用16S rRNA RFLP、BOX-PCR、AFLP、多位点持家基因序列的联合分析及无氮水培法对33株供试新银合欢根瘤菌的遗传多样性和共生有效性进行研究。【结果】分析表明,3种方法在属水平的分群结果具有较好的一致性,有1个Mesorhizobium属的菌株、3个Bradyrhizobium属的菌株、3个Rhizobium属的菌株,26个相似度较高的菌株属Sinorhizobium。16S rRNA-recA-atpD-glnII序列联合构建的新银合欢根瘤菌系统发育树表明,SCAU203、SCAU211可能分别是Rhizobium和Bradyrhizobium的新类群,另外3个代表菌株分别位于Sinorhizobium、Mesorhizobium、Bradyrhizobium分支,分别与S.americanum、M.Plurifarium、R.huautlense亲缘关系最近。无氮水培接种试验筛选出2个共生固氮效果好、与不接种对照处理差异达显著水平的菌株SCAU229和SCAU307,有3个菌株不仅不具共生有效性,甚至不利于宿主的生长,其余84%的供试菌为低效或无效菌株。【结论】凉山州新银合欢根瘤菌具有丰富的遗传多样性,分布于4个属:Rhizobium、Bradyrhizobium、Mesorhizobium、Bradyrhizobium,79%为Sinorhizobium属的菌株,优势菌群为Sinorhizobium。该区的新银合欢根瘤菌大多数的共生有效性差。     

Gadd45a interacts with aurora-A and inhibits its kinase activity

Centrosome stability is required for successful mitosis in mammalian cells. Amplification of the centrosome leads to chromosomal missegregation and generation of aneuploidy, which are closely associated with cell transformation and tumorigenesis (Doxsey, S. J. (2001) Nat. Cell Biol. 3, E105-E108; Hinchcliffe, E. H., and Sluder, G. (2001) Genes Dev. 15, 1167-1181; Pihan, G. A., Purohit, A., Wallace, J., Malhotra, R., Liotta, L., and Doxsey, S. J. (2001) Cancer Res. 61, 2212-2219). However, there are currently limited insights into mechanism(s) for this critical biological event. Here we show that Gadd45a, a DNA damage-inducible protein that is regulated by tumor suppressors p53 and BRCA1, participates in the maintenance of centrosome stability. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts derived from gadd45a knock-out mice exhibit centrosome amplification (designated as increased centrosome numbers). Introduction of exogenous Gadd45a into mouse embryonic fibroblasts isolated from gadd45a-null mice substantially restored the normal centrosome profile. In contrast to p21(waf1/cip1), which ensures coordinated initiation of centrosome, Gadd45a had no significant effect on centrosome duplication in S phase. Interestingly Gadd45a was found to physically associate with Aurora-A protein kinase, whose deregulated expression results in centrosome abnormality. Furthermore Gadd45a was demonstrated to strongly inhibit Aurora-A kinase activity and to antagonize Aurora-A-induced centrosome amplification. These findings identify a novel mechanism for Gadd45a in the maintenance of centrosome stability and broaden understandings of p53- and BRCA1-regulated signaling pathways in maintaining genomic fidelity.     

Oxygen measurements in the burrows of freshwater insects

1. Thin-tipped micro-electrodes were used to measure oxygen concentrations in the burrows of two common aquatic insects, the mayfly Hexagenia limbata and the alderfly Sialis velata . Both species maintain their surroundings oxygenated by drawing water from above the sediment surface into their tubes. 2. The temporal pattern of oxygen in the burrows differed between the species. The constant high oxygen concentration (>75% of air saturation) measured in the tubes of the mayfly suggest that this animal pumps water almost continuously, which is consistent with its high oxygen requirements. In contrast, oxygen concentration in burrows of the alderfly fluctuated widely over time, suggesting that this animal irrigates only irregularly, probably because it can tolerate short periods of low oxygen concentration in its burrow. 3. The interval between pumping episodes by the alderfly decreased with increasing temperature, a result of increased oxygen consumption by the animal and by sediment at high temperature. 4. Based on the tube dimensions, oxygen penetration depth and animal density in lakes, we estimate that Hexagenia could create an oxic micro-environment equivalent to 3–35% of the volume of the surface oxidized sediment layer created by molecular diffusion. The mosaic of oxic micro-environments created by the burrowing and irrigation of freshwater animals could influence chemical and biological processes in sediments, the fluxes of materials between the sediment and the overlying water column, and the exposure of benthic animals to sedimentary contaminants.     

Nano-characterization of Jagged-1-educated dendritic cells

Jagged-1-educated dendritic cells (DCs) are of distinct phenotypes different from Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-educated DCs. However, to date, little is known as to nano-features of Jagged-1-educated DCs. In this study, nanostructure of Jagged-1-educated DCs was observed through atomic force microscopy. Our results showed that the volume, surface area and width of Jagged-1-educated DCs, and the number of protrusion, pseudopodia and lamellapodia on the surface of Jagged-1-educated DCs were significantly more than those of GM-CSF-induced DCs, but less than those of LPS-educated DCs. Compared with GM-CSF-induced DCs, the roughness on the surface of Jagged-1-educated DCs was greatly increased, similar to LPS-educated DCs, but the particle size and number of them on the membrane were markedly less than the latter. The change of DC nanostructure caused by Jagged-1 was abrogated with N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-l-alanyl]-S-phenylglycinet-butyl ester, a γ-secretase inhibitor of Notch signaling pathway. Compared to LPS-educated DCs, Jagged-1-educated DCs highly expressed NICD, Deltex-1 and Hes-1 proteins, moderately produced IL-12, but not IFN-γ, and the level of CD40 molecules on the surface of them was much lower, suggesting that Jagged-1-educated DCs are in a semi-mature status and may have unique functions distinguished from LPS-educated DCs.     

The C-Terminal Domain of RNA Polymerase II Is a Multivalent Targeting Sequence that Supports Drosophila Development with Only Consensus Heptads

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A locus for autosomal dominant accessory auricular anomaly maps to 14q11.2–q12

Accessory auricular anomaly is a small excrescence of skin that contains elastic cartilage on different regions of the helix and the face. Previous work has shown that the genetic trait of some patients with the isolated symptom of accessory auricular anomaly is autosomal dominant. To map the gene for autosomal dominant accessory auricular anomaly (ADAAA), we investigated a Chinese family with 11 affected individuals. We performed linkage analysis with microsatellite markers spanning the whole human-genome in the family. The inheritance pattern of the ADAAA family was autosomal dominant with complete penetrance. Two-point linkage analysis revealed significant maximum LOD scores of 4.20(D14S990 and D14S264, sita = 0) in the family. Haplotype construction and multipoint linkage analysis also confirmed the locus and defined the isolated ADAAA locus to a 9.84 cM interval between the markers D14S283 and D14S297. Our study assigned an isolated ADAAA locus to 14q11.2–q12. This is the first ADAAA locus reported to date.Y. Yang and J. Guo contribute to this work equally.