Phylogenetic relationships among the genera of the Penaeidae (Crustacea : Decapoda) revealed by mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences

The phylogenetic relationships within the family Penaeidae are examined based on mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of 30 species from 20 genera. The analysis generally supports the three- tribe scheme proposed by Burkenroad ( 1983) but it is not consistent with the five- group classification of Kubo ( 1949). Three clades are resolved: ( Penaeus sensu stricto + Fenneropenaeus + Litopenaeus + Farfantepenaeus + Marsupenaeus + Melicertus + Funchalia + Heteropenaeus), ( Metapenaeus + Parapenaeopsis + Xiphopenaeus + Rimapenaeus + Megokris + Trachysalambria) and ( Metapenaeopsis + Penaeopsis + Parapenaeus), corresponding to the Penaeini, Trachypenaeini and Parapenaeini respectively, while the affinities of Atypopenaeus and Trachypenaeopsis are obscure. The molecular data support that Miyadiella represents the juvenile stage of Atypopenaeus. Within the Trachypenaeini, Trachypenaeus sensu lato is clearly paraphyletic, while the monophyly of Penaeus sensu lato in the Penaeini is questionable.

Microcalorimetric investigation of the toxic action of Cr(VI) on the metabolism of Tetrahymena thermophila BF5 during growth

Tetrahymena thermophila BF5 produce heat by metabolism and movement. Using a TAM air isothermal microcalorimeter, the power-time curves of the metabolism of T thermophila BF5 during growth were obtained and the action on them by the addition of Cr(VI) were studied. The morphological change with Cr(VI) coexisted and biomass change during the process of T thermophila BF5 growth were studied by light microscope. Chromium has been regarded as an essential trace element for life. However, hexavalent chromium is a known carcinogen, mutagen, cytotoxicant and strong oxidizing agent. Cr(VI) of different concentration have different effects on T thermophila BF5 growth with the phenomenon of low dose stimulation (0-3 x 10(-5) mol L-1) and high dose inhibition (3 x 10(-5) to 2.4 x 10(-4) mol L-1). The relationship between the growth rate constant (k) and c is a typical U-shaped curve, which is a characteristic of hormesis. T thermophila BF5 cannot grow at all when the concentration of Cr(VI) is up to 2.4 x 10(-4) mol L-1. The microscopic observations agree well with the results obtained by means of microcalorimetry. And T thermophila BF5 had obviously morphological changes by the addition of Cr(VI). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure of the phytoplankton community and its relationship to water quality in Donghu Lake, Wuhan, China

The phytoplankton community structure, in terms of species composition, total standing crop, and abundance of the dominant algal species, at four stations in Donghu Lake, Wuhan, China, was investigated monthly from January 1994 to December 1996. A total of 260 taxa was observed, of which Chlorophyta (106 taxa) contributed the highest portion of the total number of taxa, followed by Bacillariophyta (82 taxa) and Cyanophyta (32 taxa). The total standing crop measured by means of chlorophyll a content, cell density, and cell biovolume, as well as the abundance of the dominant species, declined in the order of Station I to Station IV. Seasonal changes of the standing crop varied greatly among the four stations. Although the cell density at the four stations showed a single peak within a year, the peak density varied from July to November, dependent on the sampling year and the station. For chlorophyll a content and cell biovolume, multiple peaks were observed at Stations I and II, but a single peak was found at Stations III and IV. The phytoplankton community structure indicated that the trophic status was the highest at Station I (most eutrophic), followed by Station II; Stations III and IV were the least trophic areas. The long-term changes in phytoplankton community structure further suggested that changes in phytoplankton community structure were correlated with water quality, and eutrophication of Donghu Lake had been aggravated since the 1950s.

Surface plasmon coupling in hexagonal textured metallic microcavity

The coupling of surface plasmons to the photonic modes in hexagonal textured metallic microcavity was studied. The modified photonic modes enable efficient coupling with the luminescence source in the microcavity. Hexagonal photonic crystal lattice has higher folding symmetry providing more channels for surface plasmon coupling in different in-plane directions, i.e., more isotropic light extraction profile than one-or two-dimensional gratings. Results show that strong coupling between surface plasmon modes and the waveguide mode in the microcavity has led to angle-selective enhanced light extraction and it was as much as 12 times more light extracted compare to planar microcavity. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

贵阳市中心城区大气中不同形态汞的研究

汞，是一种人体非必需的有毒重金属元素，一种全球性污染物，其全球生物地球化学循环演化规律的研究是目前环境科学领域的热点问题。汞在大气中的行为对其全球生物地球化学循环起着极其重要的控制作用。因此，关于大气汞循环演化规律的研究已经成为目前汞全球生物地球化学研究的热点问题。大气中的汞主要分为三类，即气态单质汞（GEM）、活性气态汞（RGM）和颗粒态汞（TPM）。各种形态汞的物理化学性质不同，在大气中的行为存在显著的差异。研究大气中不同形态汞的分布特征，对于正确认识汞在大气中的循环演化规律意义重大。目前中国是全球人为活动向大气释汞最多的国家，而城市区域是人为活动的中心地带，城市大气汞污染形势严峻。因此，开展城市大气中不同形态汞的研究对于评价与预测城市环境汞污染特征以及正确认识大气汞的局地、区域、全球循环演化规律具有重要的理论与实际意义。 本论文选取贵州省省会贵阳市的中心城区作为研究区域。贵阳市（东经106º07´~107º17´，北纬26º11´~27º22´）位于中国西南地区正好处在环太平洋汞矿化带中，能源消耗以煤炭为主，大气环境污染属煤烟型污染，常年影响大气环境质量的主要污染物是二氧化硫和可吸入颗粒物。本论文的研究工作包括：⑴2004年4月～12月在中国科学院地球化学研究所建立与完善了大气中气态总汞（TGM）、GEM、RGM、TPM的采集与分析方法，并测定了大气和雨水中不同形态汞的含量，对大气汞的干、湿沉降通量进行了估算；⑵2005年4月～2006年1月在贵阳市中心城区的居民区、商业区、工业区、游览区4个功能区各设1个研究点，农村设1个对照点，按春、夏、冬3个季节研究了大气中GEM、RGM、TPM的分布特征，估算了贵阳市中心城区大气汞的干沉降通量，并利用高分辨透射电子显微镜（HR–TEM）分析技术对冬季各采样点TPM的来源作了定性识别；⑶测量了中心城区表层土壤和某些植物的总汞（THg）含量，探讨了大气汞对中心城区地表生态系统的污染效应。通过本论文的研究，得出以下主要结论： 1.在国内外研究基础上，建立了金捕汞管–冷原子荧光光谱法（CVAFS）测定大气中TGM的方法、微型捕集管–CVAFS测定大气中TPM的方法、镀KCl直形扩散管–金捕汞管串联采集RGM与GEM的方法。每种形态汞的测量技术水平都在pg•m-3量级。并在国内首次实现了对城市大气中GEM、RGM、TPM的同步测量。 2.2005 ~ 2006年间贵阳市中心城区大气中GEM、RGM、TPM的平均浓度分别是9.11 ng•m-3、132.4 pg•m-3、1.02 ng•m-3，均为对照点的1.5倍，都显著高于全球背景参考值1.5 ~ 2.0 ng·m-3、< 10 pg•m-3、1 ~ 86 pg•m-3。3种形态汞的季节、昼夜与空间分布特征如下：⑴GEM：①季节平均浓度表现为冬季＞夏季＞春季，居民采暖燃煤释放是造成冬季GEM浓度高的主要原因。②春、夏非采暖季受释放源及其排放方式、自身物理化学性质与气候条件等因素的影响一般是夜间高于白天；冬季则受居民白天采暖燃煤影响主要表现为白天高于夜间。③年平均浓度，工业区＞居民区＞商业区＞游览区＞对照点。⑵RGM：①季节平均浓度表现为春季＞夏季＞冬季，气候条件对RGM的影响较大。②受白天释放源、自身物理化学性质、大气氧化强度与气候条件等因素的影响，春、夏、冬3季一般都为白天高于夜间。③年平均浓度，商业区＞工业区、居民区＞游览区、对照点。⑶TPM：①季节平均浓度表现为冬季＞夏季＞春季，居民采暖燃煤释放是造成冬季TPM浓度高的主要原因。②受释放源及其排放方式、自身物理化学性质与气候条件等因素的影响，春、夏、冬3季一般都为夜间高于白天。③年平均浓度，工业区＞居民区＞商业区＞对照点＞游览区。④TPM受局地释放源的影响显著，而燃煤释放是其冬季的普遍来源。 3.2005 ~ 2006年间不同形态汞在贵阳市中心城区大气中的含量分布为GEM（89.8 %）> TPM（8.8 %）> RGM（1.5 %），其中（RGM + TPM）占大气总汞（TAM）的比例略高于对照点的10.0 %，但显著高于全球背景参考值1 ~ 5 %，说明贵阳市中心城区大气汞向地表生态系统的沉降通量相对背景区较大。因为尽管RGM、TPM在大气中的含量很低，但正是它们控制了大气汞向地表生态系统的沉降速率。 4.2005 ~ 2006年间贵阳市中心城区各功能区及对照点大气中不同形态汞日均浓度的相关关系大多数都表现为不显著，表明在贵阳市中心城区及对照点大气中不同形态汞的来源可能是多元化的。 5.2005 ~ 2006年间贵阳市中心城区大气中GEM、RGM、TPM的干沉降通量平均值分别为28.7 μg•m-2•yr-1、10.4 μg•m-2•yr-1、160.9 μg•m-2•yr-1，均为对照点的1.5倍，其中TPM控制了大气汞向地表生态系统的干沉降通量；TAM干沉降通量平均值为200.1 μg•m-2•yr-1，其时空差异表现为冬季＞春季＞夏季和工业区＞居民区＞商业区＞对照点＞游览区。 6.经估算，2005 ~ 2006年间在贵阳市中心城区面积范围内大气汞干、湿沉降总量为54.7 kg•yr-1，它仅占燃煤向大气排汞量（以2003年为例，贵阳市中心城区燃煤向大气排汞量为334 kg•yr-1）的16.4 %，说明贵阳市中心城区的大部分大气汞仍然停留在大气中，最终将经由大气进行长距离迁移，散布到更广的区域。 7.在中国科学院地球化学研究所，2000 ~ 2006年间的大气TGM污染程度呈逐年递增趋势；2004年大气汞的干沉降通量为16.5 ng•m-2•h-1，高于湿沉降通量12.2 ng•m-2•h-1。 8.贵阳市中心城区及对照点不同类型土壤THg含量的几何平均值分别是0.370和0.276 mg•kg -1，都高于贵阳市土壤汞背景值0.201 mg•kg -1。土壤释汞是贵阳市大气气态总汞的一个重要自然源，而土壤THg含量是土壤释汞的最主要影响因子。因此，为了提高城乡居民的生活环境质量，更为了保护城乡居民的健康，非常有必要采取防治措施来降低贵阳市中心城区及对照点的土壤汞污染。 9.贵阳市中心城区苔藓THg平均含量为0.258 mg•kg -1，为对照点的1.5倍；中心城区某些常见的木本植物叶片THg含量范围是 0.068 ~ 0.181 mg•kg -1，木本植物叶片吸收大气汞的能力表现为落叶植物＞常绿植物。苔藓、梧桐叶片中的THg含量与其生长时期的大气汞浓度密切相关，能够指示区域大气汞的污染现状与空间分布规律。