Community structure and seasonal dynamics of planktonic ciliates along salinity gradients

The ciliate community structure and seasonal dynamics in a solar saltern of the Yellow Sea were studied based oil 4 sampling dates and 8 stations with salinities from 27.7 parts per thousand to 311.0 parts per thousand. The effects of the type and concentration of the fixative used (Lugol's and Bouin's) were tested at the first sampling date. Fixative type and fixative concentration had significant effects on ciliate abundance and blovolume, with 1% Lugol's giving the best results. A detailed investigation using live observations and protargol staining techniques revealed a total of 98 morphospecies from 8 sampling stations. There was obvious seasonal variation in species composition at most of the stations, but this tended to be less distinct with increasing salinity, as the dominant ciliate group shifted from oligotrichs to heterotrichs. Ciliate abundance varied from 4.40 x 10(1) to 2.11 x 10(5) cells l(-1) and biomass ranged between 2.39 and 9.87 x 10(3) mu g Cl-1 (at a salinity of 147.6 parts per thousand). Both abundance and biomass decreased abruptly when salinity exceeded 100-150 parts per thousand. Statistical analyses Suggested that the dynamics of ciliate abundance and biomass were regulated by both salinity and by season, but those of diversity and species richness were mainly controlled by salinity and both significantly decreased with increasing salinity. (C) 2009 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

海北高寒草甸的季节冻土及在植被生产力形成过程中的作用

海北高寒矮嵩草草甸区植被下的草毡寒冻雏形土属季节性冻土, 因温度低, 冻土在年内的每个月均可发生. 一般在11月中旬可形成稳定的季节冻结层, 至翌年3～4月冻土层厚度最大可达230 cm. 从3月下旬到4月中旬开始, 土壤开始消融, 至6月下旬到7月上旬冻土全部消失. 分析发现, 季节冻土在高寒草甸植被生产力形成过程中有着积极的影响作用, 主要表现在: 1)季节冻土的存在和维持将给高寒植物生长提供良好的土壤水分, 对植物初期营养生长发育有利, 可弥补春夏之交时降水不足所引起的干旱胁迫影响; 2)季节冻土的长时间维持, 有利于植物残体和土壤有机质留存于土壤, 并随土壤冻结和融化过程发生迁移, 可提高土壤肥力; 3)较高的土壤水分有利于土壤胡敏酸的形成, 可保证植物生长所需的其它有机元素的供给; 4)冻土层所形成较高的土壤水分使土体热容量加大, 从而调节因气候异常波动引起的土壤温度变化; 5)季节冻土的变化对植物地上年生产量形成有一定的影响作用, 表现出从10月或11月开始, 土壤冻结速率快, 对提高植物地上年生产量有利. 这也证实, 在未来气候变暖的趋势下, 土壤有机质将加快分解速度, 土壤水分因受温度升高 , 冻结期缩短, 其贮存能力降低; 受温度升高的影响, 地表蒸发能力加大, 若降水仍保持目前的水平, 土壤水分将明显减少, 将导致高寒草甸植被生产力有下降的可能.

Structure and base properties of calcined hydrotalcites

Five hydrotalcites with Mg/Al molar ratio range of 3-15 were prepared. The structure and basicity of Mg-Al mixed oxides (Mg(Al)O) transformed from hydrotalcites were investigated by TPD, XPS, XRD, FT-IR and NMR techniques. The results of elemental analysis and XPS indicate that Al is enriched in the surface regions of Mg(Al)O, and its amount increases with the Mg/Al molar ratio and, the calcination temperature. Al-27-MAS-NMR results show that Al exists in two chemical environments: tetrahedral aluminium (Al(t)) and octahedral aluminium (Al(o)) in Mg(AI)O. The amount of Al(t) increases with the Mg/Al molar ratio and the calcination temperature. It is assumed that Al(t) may be mainly from the surface Al. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of CO2 shows that the number of basic sites of Mg(Al)O samples increases with the Mg/Al molar ratio, and the maximum number of basic sites is obtained for hydrotalcite calcined at 773 K. Infrared spectra of adsorbed CO2 and B(OCH3)(3) reveal that there are two kinds of basic sites: weak basic OH- sites and strong basic O2- sites on the Mg(AI)O samples, the base strength depends on the Mg/Al molar ratio and calcination temperature.

PRINCIPAIS INDICADORES: AGRÍCOLAS, v. 3, n. 27, 2010.

2010

PRINCIPAIS INDICADORES: LEITE E DERIVADOS, v. 3, n. 27, 2010.

2010

PRINCIPAIS INDICADORES: MACROECONÔMICOS, v. 3, n. 27, 2010.

2010

Post card to George Whitaker 06/27/1881

Postal card to George Whitaker. Mailed from Ocean Grove, NJ. Dated June 27, 1881.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the spirituality instrument (SpI-27) in a sample of people with chronic illness

Background: Spirituality is fundamental to all human beings, existing within a person, and developing until death. This research sought to operationalise spirituality in a sample of individuals with chronic illness. A review of the conceptual literature identified three dimensions of spirituality: connectedness, transcendence, and meaning in life. A review of the empirical literature identified one instrument that measures the three dimensions together. Yet, recent appraisals of this instrument highlighted issues with item formulation and limited evidence of reliability and validity. Aim: The aim of this research was to develop a theoretically-grounded instrument to measure spirituality – the Spirituality Instrument-27 (SpI-27). A secondary aim was to psychometrically evaluate this instrument in a sample of individuals with chronic illness (n=249). Methods: A two-phase design was adopted. Phase one consisted of the development of the SpI-27 based on item generation from a concept analysis, a literature review, and an instrument appraisal. The second phase established the psychometric properties of the instrument and included: a qualitative descriptive design to establish content validity; a pilot study to evaluate the mode of administration; and a descriptive correlational design to assess the instrument’s reliability and validity. Data were analysed using SPSS (Version 18). Results: Results of exploratory factor analysis concluded a final five-factor solution with 27 items. These five factors were labelled: Connectedness with Others, Self-Transcendence, Self-Cognisance, Conservationism, and Connectedness with a Higher Power. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from 0.823 to 0.911 for the five factors, and 0.904 for the overall scale, indicating high internal consistency. Paired-sample t-tests, intra-class correlations, and weighted kappa values supported the temporal stability of the instrument over 2 weeks. A significant positive correlation was found between the SpI-27 and the Spirituality Index of Well-Being, providing evidence for convergent validity. Conclusion: This research addresses a call for a theoretically-grounded instrument to measure spirituality.

Evaluation of HER2, p53, bcl-2, topoisomerase II-alpha, heat shock proteins 27 and 70 in primary breast cancer and metastatic ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease. Predictive biological markers (BM) of responsiveness to therapy need to be identified. Evaluation of BM is mainly done at the primary site. However, in the adjuvant therapy of breast cancer, the main goal is control of micrometastases. It is still unknown whether heterogeneity in the expression of BM between the primary site and its micrometastases exists. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the expression of some BM with potential predictive value from the primary breast cancer site and metastatic ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Focality (percentage of positive cells) and intensity staining scores were evaluated for each marker. Freshly cut sections (4 microm) from embedded blocks of breast cancer fixed in formalin or bouin were put onto superfrost slides (Menzel-Gläser). Protein expression was evaluated immunohistochemically (IHC) using monoclonal antibodies against: topo II-alpha (clone KiS1, 1 microg/ml, Roche) with a trypsine pre-treatment (P); HSP27 (clone G3.1, 1/60, Biogenex), HSP70 (clone BRM.22, 1/80, Biogenex) and HER2 (clone CB11, 1/40, Novocastra; without P); p53 (clone D07, 1/750, Dako) and bcl-2 (clone 124, 1/60, Dako) with citrate buffer as P. RESULTS: Overall, the percentage of discordant marker status in the primary tumour and its metastatic lymph nodes was 2% for HER2, 6% for p53, 15% for bcl-2, 19% for topoisomerase II-alpha, 24% for HSP27 and 30% for HSP70. For the subgroup of patients with positive BM in the primary tumour, the percentage of discordance was 6% for HER2, 7% for p53, 14% for bcl-2, 19% for HSP70, 21% for topoisomerase II-alpha and 36% for HSP27. For the subgroup of patients with positive BM in the lymph nodes, the percentage of discordance was 9% for bcl-2, 15% for HER2 and p53, 21% for topoisomerase II-alpha, 22% for HSP27 and 25% for HSP70. CONCLUSIONS: 1) No biological marker had 100% concordant results. 2) Although some discordant cases might be explained by the limitations of the IHC technique, future studies aiming to evaluate the predictive value of BM in the adjuvant therapy of breast cancer should take into account a possible difference in BM expression between the primary and the metastatic sites.

Imátgenes 25, 26, 27 y última imatgen

Su mirada recorrió los lomos del estante inferior y se detuvo en un título que le llamó la atención. Lo liberó de la hilera que lo aprisionaba y lo abrió al azar. Al menos eso era lo que pretendía, aunque el libro se abrió por una página señalada con un pliegue en la esquina superior. Quien lo practicó quería señalar un punto con una indicación perenne. Seguro que era cosa de su abuelo, fallecido hacía ya unos cuantos años. Fue precisamente el recuerdo de su muerte lo que le animó a entrar en la biblioteca. No sabía porqué, pero de repente le había venido a la mente la imagen del anciano leyendo ensimismado en aquel sillón antiguo, rodeado de incontables volúmenes, páginas, frases, palabras, letras.

History of the Continuous Plankton Recorder Database. Proceedings of 'The Colour of Ocean Data' Symposium, Brussels, 25-27 November 2002.

The Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey has operated in the North Atlantic and North Sea since 1931, providing a unitque multi-decadal dataset of plankton abundance. Over the period since 1931 technology has advanced and the system for storing the CPR data has developed considerably. From 1969 an electronic database was developed to store the results of CPR analysis. Since that time the CPR database has undergone a number of changes due to performance related factors such as processor speed and disk capacity as well as economic factors such as the cost of software. These issues have been overcome and the system for storing and retrieving the data has become more user friendly at every development stage.