Structure and development of a Scalesia pedunculata stand in the Galapagos Islands

Stands of Scalesia pedunculata in the Galapagos Islands often develop as single-aged cohorts following episodes of mass death and regeneration. We updated earlier studies on a stand that had regenerated soon after the 1982–3 El Niño event. We quantified stem size distribution and dispersion pattern in a 0.56 ha plot near Los Gemelos on Santa Cruz Island. The plot was dominated (95% of basal area) by S. pedunculata. The stem size distribution showed the increased mean and variance for diameter (since 1987 and 1991) expected of an aging stand. Stems averaged smaller than in 1981, just before the last mass mortality episode. Large S. pedunculata stems were regularly dispersed while smaller stems were clumped and negatively associated with larger stems, implying that intraspecific competition may be important in structuring the stand. CDF Contribution Number 1008.

中国澜沧江(鱼芒)科鱼类种群现状及洄游原因分析

我国曾经记录有(鱼芒)科鱼类4种.国际上近年来对(鱼芒)科鱼类的分类进行了许多重要的修订,物种数量已达3属22种.我国的(鱼芒)科鱼类也因长时间没有进行及时的分类修订而存在许多疑问.基于国内自1960年以来所收集的珍贵标本和记录,确认我国记录有(鱼芒)科鱼类1属3种.它们是:长丝(鱼芒)(Pangasius sanitwongsei Smith)、贾巴(鱼芒)(Pangasius djambal Bleeker)、短须(鱼芒)(Pangasius micronemus Bleeker).在此基础上,根据掌握的资料对我国(鱼芒)科鱼类的种群现状和濒危原因、洄游的性质及洄游群体数量下降原因以及水电站建设对大型洄游鱼类的影响进行了分析.以往记录显示,捕获时间都集中于4-5月份,无冬季捕获记录.捕获季节与(鱼芒)科鱼类产卵繁殖季节高度吻合,提示其上溯到我国澜沧江下游应属生殖洄游,而不是索饵洄游.被捕获记录主要出现于20世纪60-70年代,之后则数量锐减.导致这种情况发生的主要原因可能有三方面:1)下游湄公河对(鱼芒)科鱼类的捕捞压力过大;2)湄公河-澜沧江航运船只对(鱼芒)科鱼类有损害作用;3)由于西南季风变化的影响,澜沧江径流量发生变化,可能间接导致(鱼芒)科鱼类洄游行为发生改变.分析显示,(鱼芒)科鱼类的洄游与3-4月份澜沧江流量呈密切相关规律,提示适合鱼类产卵的雨季及西南夏季风比往年较早到达该地区,从而激发它们较往年提前启动生殖洄游,并且溯河的高度较高.以往的捕获记录还表明,(鱼芒)科鱼类主要洄游至景洪下方的澜沧江河段及支流补远江,上述水域是其喜好的产卵场之一.景洪大桥以下的干支流不适合建设水电站,因为电站大坝必然会阻断(鱼芒)科鱼类的繁殖洄游,影响其繁殖活动.而景洪大桥上方的干流电站不在(鱼芒)科鱼类正常繁殖洄游通道中,大坝阻隔作用对(鱼芒)科鱼类的影响相对较小.建议把补远江建设成为鱼类和水生生物保护区.

卵黄萤荧光素再生酶基因的克隆与序列分析

目的 克隆和分析荧光素再生酶基因(LRE).方法 通过GeneBank中已知的荧光素再生酶基因保守区段设计引物,利用5'RACE(rapid-amplification of cDNA ends)和3'RACE技术克隆了来自云南省两双版纳州的卵黄萤(Luciola ovalis)荧光素再生酶基因cDNA和全基因序列.通过GeneBank、National Center for Bioteclmology Information和ProDom at the ExPASy Server软件和数据库进行序列分析.结果 卵黄萤荧光素再牛酶的cDNA序列和基因序列存在2个不同碱基位点,但是它们编码的荧光素再生酶是相同的.卵黄萤荧光素再生酶基因全长(从起始密码子到终止密码子)为1131 bp,包含5个外显子4个内含子,其cDNA 序列为1008 bp,包含924bp的荧光素酶基因开放阅读框和84 bp的3'UTR序列.卵黄萤荧光素酶基因的开放阅读框编码1个307个氨基酸的蛋白质.它与北美萤火虫(Photinus pyralis)荧光素再生酶在碱基序列和氨基酸序列上分别有61.8%和53.3%的相似性.结论 成功地克隆了荧光素再生酶的cDNA和基因序列,为其在基因工程中的应用奠定了基础.

湖北省若干浅水湖泊沉积物有机质与富营养化的关系

分析了湖北省月湖、龙阳湖、后官湖、梁子湖、牛山湖、保安湖、鲁湖等7个湖泊表层沉积物有机质、总氮与总磷的含量,并考察了其在月湖、龙阳湖沉积物中的垂直分布及月湖、龙阳湖与保安湖表层沉积物的颗粒组成,结果表明:位于城市与城郊的月湖与龙阳湖表层沉积物有机质含量较高,且表现出沿岸带较丰富的空间分布特征。在垂直及水平方向上,有机质与总氮和总磷含量均显著相关,颗粒组成与有机质和总氮含量亦显著相关。有机质富集应是促进城市湖泊富营养化的重要因素。

Analytical field-effect method for extraction of subgap states in thin-film transistors

We present an analytical field-effect method to extract the density of subgap states (subgap DOS) in amorphous semiconductor thin-film transistors (TFTs), using a closed-form relationship between surface potential and gate voltage. By accounting the interface states in the subthreshold characteristics, the subgap DOS is retrieved, leading to a reasonably accurate description of field-effect mobility and its gate voltage dependence. The method proposed here is very useful not only in extracting device performance but also in physically based compact TFT modeling for circuit simulation. © 2012 IEEE.

Androgen receptor targets NFKB and TSPI to suppress prostate tumor growth in vivo

The androgen role in the maintenance of prostate epithelium is subject to conflicting opinions. While androgen ablation drives the regression of normal and cancerous prostate, testosterone may cause both proliferation and apoptosis. Several investigators note decreased proliferation and stronger response to chemotherapy of the prostate cancer cells stably expressing androgen receptor (AR), however no mechanistic explanation was offered. In this paper we demonstrate in vivo anti-tumor effect of the AR on prostate cancer growth and identify its molecular mediators. We analyzed the effect of AR on the tumorigenicity of prostate cancer cells. Unexpectedly, the AR-expressing cells formed tumors in male mice at a much lower rate than the AR-negative controls. Moreover, the AR-expressing tumors showed decreased vascularity and massive apoptosis. AR expression lowered the angiogenic potential of cancer cells, by increasing secretion of an anti-angiogenic protein, thrombospondin-1. AR activation caused a decrease in RelA, a subunit of the pro-survival transcription factor NF kappa B, reduced its nuclear localization and transcriptional activity. This, in turn, diminished the expression of its anti-apoptotic targets, Bcl-2 and IL-6. Increased apoptosis within AR-expressing tumors was likely due to the NF kappa B suppression, since it was restricted to the cells lacking nuclear (active) NF kappa B. Thus we for the first time identified combined decrease of NF kappa B and increased TSP1 as molecular events underlying the AR anti-tumor activity in vivo. Our data indicate that intermittent androgen ablation is preferable to continuous withdrawal, a standard treatment for early-stage prostate cancer. (C) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.