Studies on the filtration, feeding and excretion rates in Perna viridis, Marcia cor and Crassostrea gryphoides (Mollusca: Bivalvia) using P³² labelled Ankistrodesmes

The study deals with a series of experiments to investigate feeding and excretion in three species of bivalves: Perna viridis (Linné), Marcia cor (Sowerby) and Cassostrea gryphoides (Gould) from Manora Channel, Karachi. Bivalves were fed with suspensions of Ankistrodesmes labelled with P³². These animals showed a considerable variation in the average filtration rates depending upon species and the body lenght. Exceptionally high content of the P³² introduced with Akistrodesmes, got excreted as pseudofaeces and faeces within first three days following its absorption as a meal. The assimilated P³² is partly released as faecal material and its major proportion is directly transferred to the solution. As expexted the gonad and kidney are the main organs found responsible for excretion as comared to other body parts. Although, the assimilated P³² is mostly concentrated in the digestive glands, the results also show a significant presence of P³² in the gonads. Accumulation of P³² was the least in the foot.

放牧对内蒙古草原植物C:N:P化学计量特征和资源分配的影响

C、N、P是生物地球化学循环中的重要元素，其可利用性和各元素之间的平衡关系将生态系统的物质循环有机统一为一个整体。化学计量生态学为研究这几种基本元素间的平衡提供了一个有力的理论框架。许多研究表明，过度放牧会改变生态系统的结构和功能，而放牧如何影响植物的C:N:P化学计量关系的却少见报道。本研究以内蒙古锡林河流域沿水分梯度分布的草甸、草甸草原、典型草原和沙地四种植被类型中的灰脉苔草（Carex appendiculata）、贝加尔针茅(Stipa baicalensis)、羊草(Leymus chinensis)、大针茅(Stipa grandis)、小叶锦鸡儿(Caragana microphylla)、冷蒿(Artemisia frigid)、克氏针茅(S. krylovii)和榆树(Ulmus Pumila)疏林沙地8个草地群落为研究对象，对长期禁牧样地和自由放牧样地中273种植物，其中禁牧与放牧样地中的共有植物种为144个，测定了植物叶片C: N: P化学计量特征以及植株高度、丛幅面积、茎、叶和株（丛）生物量、茎叶比等功能性状，系统地研究了放牧对植物C:N:P化学计量特征和资源分配的影响。取得了如下主要研究结果和结论： 1. 放牧降低了植物叶片的C:N比，但增加了N:P比和C:P比。C:N:P 化学计量比的变化主要受叶片N和P含量变化的影响； 2. 植物C:N:P化学计量特征对放牧的响应同时受水分条件的制约。沿水分梯度分布的不同植被类型中，植物叶片C:N:P化学计量特征对放牧的响应不同。草甸群落中，植物叶片C含量显著降低，N和P含量显著增加；在草甸草原群落中，植物叶片C、P含量减少，N含量显著增加；而在典型草原群落中，植物叶片C、N和P含量均显著降低； 3. 在物种水平上，C、N、P含量对放牧的响应分为：显著增加、显著降低和没有显著变化三种类型。放牧影响下，植物叶片N含量和N:P比在显著升高的物种多于显著降低的，而叶片C含量、C:N和C:P显著降低的物种占的比例很小，表明植物对放牧适应策略与物种本身的生物学特性有着密切的关系。 4. 过度放牧使植物的植株高度、丛幅大小、株丛数、茎叶比和单株生物量均显著降低，即植物整体呈现小型化现象，进而导致群落初级生产力、茎和叶生物量下降。轻度放牧对物种的资源分配没有显著影响，单株（丛）生物量和群落茎、叶及总生物量均呈增加趋势，这与过度放牧的影响正好相反。 5. 过度放牧显著改变了物种的资源分配策略，使生物量向叶的分配比例增加，向茎的分配比例减少。资源优先向同化器官分配可能是草地植物对长期放牧干扰的一种重要适应对策。

New chiral E- and Z-isomers of the 1R,4R-2-arylidene-p-menthane-3-ones in induced cholesteric and ferroelectric liquid crystals

A novel pair of the E- and Z-isomeric 1R,4R-2-(4-heptyloxyphenyl)-benzylidene-p-menthan-3-ones has been prepared and the influence of distinctions in their molecular geometry on macroscopic properties of liquid crystal systems with the induced supra-molecular helical structure has been studied. The significantly lower helical twisting power of the chiral Z-isomer in comparison with that of E- one has been confirmed in the case of induced cholesteric systems based on 4-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl. The phase behavior and ferroelectric characteristics have been investigated for smectic-C* compositions based on the eutectic mixture of the homological 4-hexyloxyphenyl-4'-hexyloxy- and 4-hexyloxyphenyl-4'-octyloxybenzoates containing the novel isomeric chiral dopants. The spontaneous polarisation of the opposite signs induced by the isomeric chiral components has been revealed for the compositions studied. Distinctions in phase states, absolute values of the spontaneous polarization, smectic tilt angle and rotation viscosity of the systems obtained are discussed.

Ferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures containing chiral ether and ester compounds with the 2-arylidene-p-menthan-3-one skeleton

Some 1R,4R-2-(4-phenylbenzylidene)-p-menthane-3-one derivatives containing the ether or ester linking group between benzene rings of the arylidene fragment have been studied as chiral dopants in ferroelectric liquid crystal systems based on the eutectic mixture (1:1) of two phenylbenzoate derivatives CmH2m+1OC6H4COOC6 H4OCnH2n+1 (n = 6; m = 8, 10). The ferroelectric properties of these compositions (spontaneous polarization, rotation viscosity, smectic tilt angle as well as quantitative characteristics of their concentration dependences) were compared with those for systems including chiral dopants containing no linking group. Ferroelectric parameters of the induced ferroelectric compositions studied have been shown to depend essentially on the presence of the linking group between benzene rings and its nature as well as on the number of the benzene rings in the rigid molecular core of the chiral dopants used. For all ferroelectric liquid crystal systems studied, the influence of the chiral dopants on the thermal stability of N*, SmA and SmC* mesophases has been quantified. The influence of the linking group nature in the dopant molecules on the characteristics of the systems studied is discussed taking into account results of the conformational analysis carried out by the semi-empirical AM1 and PM3 methods.

Economics of operation of 38' G.R.P. fishing vessels issued by the A.D.B. Fisheries Project: a case study

The author gives a financial and economic valuation of the operation of vessels in the 38 foot GRP class. He discusses particularly the materials and methods of fishing they use, species composition of their catches, their rate of return, break-even analysis, financial and social analysis.

New (1R,4R)-2-arylidene-p-menthan-3-ones with a bridging ester group in the arylidene fragment. Synthesis and behavior in liquid-crystalline systems

(1R,4R)-2-(4-Hydroxybenzylidene)- and (1R,4R)-2-(4′-hydroxybiphenyl- 4-yl)methylene-p-menthan-3-ones were synthesized by condensation of (-)-menthone with O-tetrahydropyran-2-yl derivatives of 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 4′-hydroxy-4-formylbiphenyl, respectively, in a DMSO - base medium followed by the removal of the protective group. The reactions of these hydroxy derivatives with 4-alkylbenzoic, 4-alkyloxybenzoic, trans-4-alkylcyclohexane-4- carboxylic, and 4′-alkylbiphenyl-4-carboxylic acids afforded three series of new chiral esters. Compounds containing the arylidene moiety with three benzene rings were found to exhibit liquid-crystalline properties. The characteristic features of these compounds are discussed based on the results of studies by polarizing microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and small-angle X-ray scattering. It was found that the mesomorphic compounds under study can form a smectic A mesophase, twist grain boundary mesophases (TGBA), and blue phases in a wide temperature range. Upon dissolution of certain of chiral compounds in 4′-cyano-4-pentylbiphenyl, a rather high twisting power and the thermal stabilizing effect on mesophases were observed.

New chiral ether derivatives of 2-arylidene-p-menthane-3-ones as components of induced ferroelectric systems

New 2-arylidene-p-menthane-3-ones containing the ether bridging group in the arylidene fragment have been synthesized and studied as chiral dopants in ferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures. The ferroelectric properties of these compositions were compared with those for compositions including chiral dopants that do not contain any bridging group. The influence of bridging group and terminal alkyl substituent length in the dopant molecule on the ferroelectric parameters of systems studied is discussed. © 2001 OPA (Overseas Publishers Association) N.V. Published by license under the Gordon and Breach Science Publishers imprint, a member of the Taylor & Francis Group,.

Effect of copper, cadmium and Cu.Cd mixture on amino acid content in the poslarvae of penaeid shrimp, Penaeus monodon and P. penicillatus

This study document effects of short-term (96h) sublethal levels of copper, cadmium and their mixture on the amino acid composition of postlarvae of the penaeid shrimp, P.monodon and P.penicillatus . All experimental conditions were kept constant, temperature between 25-27•C and salinity 21-22 ppt. The estimated LD50 for Cu was 200 ug/L, for Cd 177.5 ug/L and for Cu.Cd mixture 250ug/L. In P. penicillatus at the same concentration of each metal, there was significant reduction in amino acid content, which was 8.01% higher than the control. Almost similar reduction in some amino acids was observed in P.monodon. At the maximum concentration of 400 ug/L, cadmium caused higher reduction in amino acid composition than did copper. Thus, amino acid composition may be regarded as a sensitive biochemical indicator of Cu and Cd toxicity because of the effect of these metals on protein synthesis, a signal of physiological stress in marine organisms subjected to heavy metal pollution.

Cloning of two novel P-III class metalloproteinases from Trimeresurus stejnegeri venom gland

Hemorrhagic toxins are widely distributed in viperid and crotalid snake venoms. Envenomation of Trimeresurus stejnegeri, a member of Crotalidae family, caused potent systemic and local hemorrhage. Up to now, there is no report on hemorrhage toxins from th

A new protein structure of P-II class snake venom metalloproteinases: it comprises metalloproteinase and disintegrin domains

A new metalloproteinase-disintegrin, named Jerdonitin, was purified from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom with a molecular weight of 36 kDa on SDS-PAGE. It dose-dependently inhibited ADP-induced human platelet aggregation with IC50 of 120 nM. cDNA cloning and sequencing revealed that Jerdonitin belonged to the class II of snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) (P-II class). Different from other P-II class SVMPs, metalloproteinase and disintegrin domains of its natural protein were not separated, confirmed by internal peptide sequencing. Compared to other P-II class SVMPs, Jerdonitin has two additional cysteines (Cys219 and Cys238) located in the spacer domain and disintegrin domain, respectively. They probably form a disulfide bond and therefore the metalloproteinase and disintegrin domains cannot be separated by posttranslationally processing. In summary, comparison of the amino acid sequences of Jerdonitin with those of other P-II class SVMPs by sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis, in conjunction with natural protein structure data, suggested that it was a new type of P-II class SVMPs. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.