Enriched environment experience overcomes the memory deficits and depressive-like behavior induced by early life stress

Stress in early life is believed to cause cognitive and affective disorders, and to disrupt hippocampal synaptic plasticity in adolescence into adult, but it is unclear whether exposure to enriched environment (EE) can overcome these effects. Here, we rep

Enriched environment treatment restores impaired hippocampal synaptic plasticity and cognitive deficits induced by prenatal chronic stress

Prenatal stress can cause long-term effects on cognitive functions in offspring. Hippocampal synaptic plasticity, believed to be the mechanism underlying certain types of learning and memory, and known to be sensitive to behavioral stress, can be changed

Diet and feeding behavior of Rhinopithecus bieti at Xiaochangdu, Tibet: Adaptations to a marginal environment

The diet and feeding ecology of a wild subpopulation of black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) were studied at Xiaochangdu in Honglaxueshan Nature Reserve, Tibet. This region is climatologically harsher than any other inhabited by non-human primates. Black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys fed on 48 parts of 25 plant species, at least three species of lichens and seven species of invertebrates. The number of food items exploited varied markedly among seasons, with dietary diversity being greatest in spring and summer. In winter, black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys had to subsist on fallback foods such as dried grass and bark. Ubiquitous lichens formed a major dietary constituent throughout the year, contributing about 75% of feeding records. Even though lichens act as a staple, our findings signify that the monkeys at Xiaochangdu prefer feeding on foliage, which is higher in protein content than the former. We provide evidence that black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys are able to cope with an array of food items other than lichens and hence can be regarded as feeding generalists. We discuss the results with reference to previous studies on other subpopulations living in habitats that are floristically more diverse and offer more plant food items than the marginal habitat at Xiaochangdu.

Contributions of Pelagic and Benthic Dietary Sources to Freshwater Mussels: Evidence from Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis

In Gonghu Bay of Lake Taihu, tissue of five mussel species showed delta C-13 values similar to or slightly below that of pelagic suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM). This indicated that mussels in this area either fed non-selectively and so reflected available carbon in the pelagic habitat or selected for phytoplankton. The situation was the same for Anodonta woodiana woodiana and Cristaria plicata in Meiliang Bay; however, for the remaining three species, Hyriopsis cumingii, Arconaia lanceolata, and Lamprotula rochechouarti, tissue had intermediate delta C-13 values, falling between those for pelagic SPOM and benthic sediment organic matter (SOM), suggesting a possible preferential selection of phytoplankton from the pelagic SPOM but more likely reflecting local differences in pelagic SPOM and benthic SOM composition and available organic carbon sources. The mixing model showed that pelagic SPOM accounted for over 98% of carbon incorporated by all mussels in Gonghu Bay and two mussels in Meiliang Bay, suggesting the dietary importance of pelagic food sources for mussels. Less than 50% of the assimilation in H. cumingii, A. lanceolata, and L. rochechouarti came from the pelagic carbon sources in Meiliang Bay, which suggested that these species consumed a mix of benthic and pelagic derived carbon sources.

Size-related shifts in reliance on benthic and pelagic food webs by lake anchovy

This paper reports large variations in stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of lake anchovy (Coilia ectenes taihuensis) from Lake Chaohu, China. The lake anchovy exhibited a significant C-13- and N-15- enrichment in relation to increasing fish length, and the isotopic compositions of small lake anchovy (<= 130 mm) were significantly more enriched than those of large lake anchovy (> 130 mm). The significant differences in the isotopic compositions of small and large lake anchovy suggested that their assimilated diets differed over a period of time and reflected the size-related diet shift of this fish. Bellamya aeruginosa and Corbicula fluminea were used to establish the baseline carbon signal of benthic and pelagic food webs, and these data were used to parameterize a 2-source mixing model to estimate in consumers the contribution of carbon derived from benthic versus pelagic food webs. Mixing models showed that small lake anchovy derived only 37% of their carbon from benthic food web, indicating increased reliance on pelagic prey, whereas benthic prey contributed 71% of large lake anchovy diet, suggesting greater use of benthic sources. These data indicate that there was a change in lake anchovy feeding strategy related to their size, suggesting a role in dynamic coupling between pelagic and benthic food chains. The trophic position of small lake anchovy averaged 3.0, indicating a zooplankton-based diet, compared with 3.6 in large lake anchovy, indicative of an increase in piscivorous diet. Overlap in the isotopic compositions of small and large lake anchovy probably indicated that these fish occasionally shared common diets, as suggested by stomach content studies, and/or resulted from the differences in the rate of isotopic turnover depending on differences in growth rate and metabolic turnover between small and large anchovy during diet shift from pelagic to benthic food webs. This study presents the contributions of benthic and pelagic food webs supporting lake anchovy and indicates that the intraspecific isotopic dynamic should be considered when applying stable isotope analyses to infer trophic interactions in aquatic ecosystems.

Sedimentary records of water environment in lake Chaohu in the Yangtze delta region, China

Three lacustrine core samples were collected from Chaohu lake in December 2002 in the Yangtze delta region. The grain sizes were analyzed using a Laser Analyzer to obtain grain-size parameters. Sediment geochronology was determined in radioisotopes Cs-137 and the average sedimentary rates are 0.29cm.a(-1), 0.35 cm.a(-1) and 0.24cm-a(-1) in Cores C 1, C2 and C3, respectively. The grain-size parameters of the deposits vary regularly with the fluctuation of hydrodynamics. From 1950s to the beginning of 20th century, coarse-grained sediment was deposited, suggesting strong hydraulic conditions and high water-level periods with much precipitation; from the start of 20(th) century to latter half of 18(th) century, fine-grained sediment was deposited, indicating that weak hydraulic conditions and low water-level periods with less precipitation; before the first half of 18(th) century, coarse-grained sediment was deposited, suggesting great velocity of flow and high water-level periods of more precipitation.

MOBILITY AND TRANSFER OF RESIDUAL HEXACHLOROCYCLOHEXANE (HCH) IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT

An investigation was carried out to study the mobility and transfer of HCH-residues in Yanjia lake, Hubei, China, from 1990-1993. By sampling at different locations, the horizontal distribution of HCH-residues was determined; by sampling at different depths in the same location, the vertical mobility of HCH-residues and its penetration were measured. The vertical profiles of HCH-residues in sediment showed a gradient distribution, which was reduced with the increase in depth. This was very similar in shape to the organic carbon and nitrogen content profiles. The penetration of HCH-residues was measured as 60cm approximately. Meanwhile, water, sediment (0-12cm), benthos and benthic fish collected from the lake were analyzed to determine the transfer of HCH-residues along aquatic food chain. The BCF values of HCH-residues indicated that the bioaccumulation of HCH-residues in freshwater food chain still exsisted in spite of the banning of HCH since 1983. The maxium BCF value of HCH-residues in the liver samples of 5-year-old common carp was up to 61966 (calculated by beta-HCH).

Local environment of Er3+ in Er-doped Si nanoclusters embedded in SiO2 films

The local environment of Er3+ in heavily Er-doped (Er, 2.5 at. %) Si nanoclusters embedded in SiO2 films annealed at various temperatures was investigated by using the fluorescence-extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. The results show that annealing caused a large effect on the local environment of Er3+ surrounded by O atoms and the 1.54 mu m photoluminescence intensity. The correlation between the local environment around Er3+ and the corresponding 1.54 mu m photoluminescence was discussed. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Processing network models of energy/environment systems

Processing networks are a variant of the standard linear programming network model which are especially useful for optimizing industrial energy/environment systems. Modelling advantages include an intuitive diagrammatic representation and the ability to incorporate all forms of energy and pollutants in a single integrated linear network model. Added advantages include increased speed of solution and algorithms supporting formulation. The paper explores their use in modelling the energy and pollution control systems in large industrial plants. The pollution control options in an ethylene production plant are analyzed as an example. PROFLOW, a computer tool for the formulation, analysis, and solution of processing network models, is introduced.

co-creativepen toolkit: a pen-based 3d toolkit for children cooperatly designing virtual environment

Co-CreativePen Toolkit is a pen-based 3D toolkit for children cooperatly designing virtual environment. This toolkit is used to construct different applications involved with distributedpen-based 3D interaction. In this toolkit,sketch method is encapsulated as kinds of interaction techniques. Children can use pen to construct 3D and IBR objects, to navigate in the virtual world, to select and manipulate virtual objects, and to communicate with other children. Children can use pen to select other children in the virtual world, and use pen to write message to children selected The distributed architecture of Co-CreativePen Toolkit is based on the CORBA. A common scene graph is managed in the server with several copies of this graph are managed in every client.Every changes of the scene graph in client will cause the change in the server and other client.