查尔酮异构酶基因过表达对新疆雪莲类黄酮生物合成的调控

新疆雪莲（Saussurea involucrata Kar. et Kir.）是我国名贵中药材，其主要药用活性成分为黄酮类化合物。目前人们对新疆雪莲及它的黄酮类化合物的需求日益增多，但雪莲的人工栽培技术尚未成熟，在野生状态下，新疆雪莲只能生长在海拔4,000到5,000米的雪山上，现在由于过度采挖已濒临灭绝。为解决雪莲资源匮乏，提高雪莲中黄酮类成分的含量，本研究通过基因工程手段利用发根农杆菌将黄酮代谢途径中的关键酶－查尔酮异构酶（CHI）基因导入新疆雪莲，产生转基因新疆雪莲毛状根及再生苗，以期提高新疆雪莲的黄酮类物质含量，进行新疆雪莲黄酮类物质的生产。主要结果如下： 　　1．对克隆到的水母雪莲查尔酮异构酶基因（Smchi）进行功能分析。转Smchi正义、反义烟草的CHI酶活性实验结果表明，转Smchi正义的烟草CHI酶活性比对照提高3-6倍，而转反义Smchi基因的烟草CHI酶活性比对照则显著降低。分析不同株系的转基因烟草和对照烟草的黄酮含量和花色素含量表明，转Smchi正义的烟草积累比对照显著增高水平的总黄酮，其中株系CS-5黄酮含量是对照的6倍，转Smchi反义的烟草则积累较低水平的总黄酮，而且转基因烟草的总黄酮含量与Smchi基因的表达水平和CHI酶活性成正相关。但不论转Smchi基因正义或反义方向的烟草，其花色素含量和对照相比均没有发生显著变化。进一步对转基因烟草的黄酮成分进行分析，发现烟草中的主要黄酮成分芦丁在转Smchi正义烟草中有很高的积累。 　　2．发根农杆菌介导法将Smchi基因导入新疆雪莲，得到转Smchi基因的新疆雪莲毛状根。实验发现，35S-chi转基因对毛状根的生长没有显著影响，但35S-chi转基因毛状根能够合成显著提高水平的芹菜素和总黄酮，其中根系C46经过35 d培养，能产生32.1 mg/L的芹菜素和647.8 mg/L的总黄酮，分别是对照根系的12倍和4倍;不同根系的Smchi基因表达水平、CHI酶活性和芹菜素含量成正相关。本研究为通过基因工程手段提高新疆雪莲毛状根芹菜素和总黄酮含量提供了一个有效方法。 　　3．在1/2MS附加GA1.5 mg/L的培养基上，新疆雪莲毛状根的不定芽再生频率高且不定芽生长健壮。再生苗在MS+BA1.0 mg/L+NAA0.1 mg/L的培养基上继代培养生长量较大，经过20 d的培养，35S-chi转基因新疆雪莲再生苗株系（C17、C27、C46）、对照再生苗（Control-1）和正常试管苗（Control-2）之间生长量差异不显著，增殖倍数都在7倍左右;实验还发现，毛状根再生苗比各自来源的毛状根的芹菜素和总黄酮含量下降了20-30%，但转基因再生苗的芹菜素和总黄酮含量比Control-1和Control-2都有显著提高，其中C46芹菜素和总黄酮含量分别为1.86 mg/g 干重和37.3 mg/g干重，分别是Control-1的12倍和 2.4 倍，Control-2的4 倍和1.6倍。这些结果表明由毛状根诱导出的再生苗可作为增强目标次生代谢产物生产的另外一个有效来源。 　　

诱导子对水母雪莲次生代谢的影响及雪莲查耳酮合成酶基因克隆

水母雪莲(Saussurea medusa Maxim)为菊科凤毛菊属植物,是名贵中药材。为解决雪莲资源匮乏，我们实验室通过植物组织培养技术，成功的建立起水母雪莲细胞和毛状根体系。通过对它的药理实验及化学成分分析，主要成分为黄酮类物质和紫丁香甙单体。为了进一步提高这些物质在水母雪莲培养物中的含量，本文开展通过添加外源诱导子手段来调控水母雪莲次生代谢合成途径。 利用水杨酸（SA）和酵母提取物（YE）作为外源诱导子，添加到水母雪莲细胞系和毛状根系培养基中，研究诱导子不同添加浓度和不同添加时间对水母莲细胞系和毛状根系的生长及次生物质合成的诱导效应。实验结果发现：对于细胞系来说，SA比YE的诱导效果要好，低浓度SA处理时，不仅能促进细胞的生长，还能提高水母雪莲细胞中黄酮化合物和紫丁香甙的含量。其中，在细胞生长周期的第6天添加终浓度为20 μM的SA，诱导效果表现最佳。在此条件下，细胞内总黄酮产量达到532 mg/l，紫丁香甙为630 mg/l，分别比对照提高了130%，和150%。对于毛状根体系来说，SA和YE生长早期添加会抑制毛状根生长。总体上，YE的诱导效果比SA明显。在第10天添加终浓度为40 μg/ml的YE，总黄酮达到741 mg/l，紫丁香甙达到303 mg/l，分别是对照的2.8和2.5倍。 同时研究了20 μM和100 μM SA诱导下，黄酮合成途径中相关酶的变化。发现，低浓度的SA能在短时间内诱导CHS和CHI表达，24h后PAL酶活性升高到对照的7.5倍，而48 h总黄酮的含量检测到最高值。因此可以初步断定，SA诱导苯基苯丙烷类物质的积累与CHS和CHI表达，PAL酶活性提高有关。 另外，从水母雪莲cDNA中克隆到雪莲黄酮合成途径的第一个关键酶—查耳酮合成酶基因（SmCHS）全长cDNA。此cDNA序列全长为1313bp，其编码的蛋白为389个氨基酸，推测的氨基酸序列与许多物种都高度同源，同源性高达88%。生物信息学分析，SmCHS具有CHS－like保守结构域，其二级结构与苜蓿的CHS十分相似，且苜蓿中的CHS酶活性中心的关键氨基酸位点在SmCHS也一致对应相同，没有突变。因此可以初步推测这个SmCHS应该具有查耳酮合成酶功能。并进一步构建SmCHS植物表达载体，转化拟南芥chs突变体，通过功能互补分析研究此基因的功能。由于时间关系这部分研究尚在进行中。

雪莲细胞培养物中黄酮类物质代谢调控及其生物活性成份分析

水母雪莲（Saussurea medusa Maxim.）和新疆雪莲（Saussurea involucrata Karel. et Kir.）是我国珍稀的药用植物资源，具有清热解毒、止痉镇痛、敛伤、消肿及治疗热病、风湿等多种功效。雪莲的主要药用成份为紫丁香甙（Syringin）、芦丁(Rutin)、高车前素（Hispidulin）和Jaceosidin等苯基丙酸类（phenylpropanoid）和黄酮类（flavonoids）物质。最新的药理研究表明，上述物质还具有抗菌消炎、保肝降压、延缓衰老和抑制癌细胞增殖等重要的研发价值。 雪莲生境恶劣，生长缓慢，人工引种困难，加上长期掠夺性采挖，已使雪莲处于灭绝的边缘。为了保存国家珍稀植物品种，保护生态环境，满足临床上对雪莲药物的需求，本研究在雪莲组织培养的基础上，应用诱导子添加技术和毛状根培养技术对雪莲中具有重要药用价值的次生代谢物质进行调控，并对雪莲MYB类转录因子的功能进行了初步探索，为保护珍稀植物资源、维护生态环境、开发野生雪莲替代产品、缩短雪莲药用成份的生产周期奠定了基础。另外，分析了野生雪莲和雪莲培养物中主要生物活性成份的种类及含量，为今后雪莲药理药效研究及品质评价奠定了基础。 为了提高雪莲黄酮的产量，满足工业化生产的需要，在细胞培养水平上，通过添加茉莉酸甲酯（MJ），对雪莲黄酮类物质的代谢进行调控。研究了诱导子的添加时间、添加浓度对水母雪莲红色系悬浮细胞的生物量和总黄酮产量的影响。发现在细胞培养的指数期（第9天）添加5.0 µmol/L的MJ，可以使总黄酮产量提高2.4倍（1134.5 ± 63.86 mg/L），而雪莲细胞干重（dw）仅比对照提高23.8 %（20.4 ±0.27 g/L）。另外，细胞中苯丙氨酸裂解酶（PAL）的活性分析表明，MJ添加后PAL活性的增加与雪莲总黄酮含量增长之间存在相关性。 在器官培养水平上，对雪莲毛状根的诱导频率及其培养条件进行了研究。结果表明，选择发根农杆菌R1601侵染预培养2天的新疆雪莲根段外植体，毛状根的诱导效率可达到83 %。毛状根的冠瘿碱检测、PCR和Southern分析表明，Ri质粒中的T-DNA已整合到植物基因组中并稳定表达。以新疆雪莲毛状根为外植体，能够容易地获得再生芽。在含有1.0 mg/L 6-BA的MS固体培养基上，其再生频率高达91 ± 5.9 %，是其正常根的2.4倍。而水母雪莲在该培养条件下，仅有少量的畸形芽出现。进而对毛状根的培养条件进行初步研究，结果表明在无激素附加的MS液体培养基中，新疆雪莲的HR1601根系在一个培养周期内（32 天），其生物量能够达到接种量的16倍，而紫丁香甙含量（43.5 ± 1.13 mg/g dw）能够达到野生雪莲的83倍。从而显示了雪莲毛状根培养体系的优良特性。 在基因水平上，对雪莲黄酮类物质代谢调控的研究已经展开。玉米P基因编码的Myb类转录因子能够调节黄酮类物质代谢途径关键酶基因的表达。根据P基因的保守序列设计引物，从雪莲细胞培养物中获得了SmP基因。核酸序列分析表明，SmP基因与烟草中涉及苯丙素类物质代谢途径的LBM 1、LBM 3和MybAS 1基因具有较高的一致性，分别为66 %、60 %和61 %。因此为了研究雪莲SmP基因的功能，构建了正义表达载体，并与先前构建好的反义表达载体分别导入烟草，分析了转基因植株的形态特征及黄酮类物质的含量变化。其中，约有30 %转反义SmP基因的株系表现叶片皱缩、叶脉紊乱、主侧脉角度缩小、叶片、花瓣失去对称性以及花粉败育等性状。 另外，通过正交试验设计优化了雪莲提取工艺的条件，并对雪莲细胞提取物进行了分离纯化。正交试验设计结果表明，温度对雪莲黄酮提取效率的影响极为显著，而分批多次提取比一次性浸提，能够收到较好的提取效果。考虑到工业生产中的实际问题，推荐在60 ℃水浴条件下，采用50 %乙醇对雪莲样品连续浸提2次的方案。对雪莲提取物的纯化研究表明，雪莲成份复杂，仅依靠单一的分离手段，往往难以奏效。另外，野生雪莲及雪莲培养物中生物活性成份的比色法、HPLC（High Performance Liquid Chromatography）、LC-ESI-MS（Liquid Chromotagraphy Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry）分析表明，传统的NaNO2-AlCl3 法测定雪莲总黄酮的含量，结果偏高，不利于雪莲黄酮的实验室研究分析与今后工业化生产的质量监控。而AlCl3 法的显色反应较为特异，今后有望取代NaNO2-AlCl3 法，作为雪莲类药材品质评价的标准。而HPLC-DAD结合LC-ESI-MS可以对雪莲中的主要生物活性成份进行较为准确的定性分析，从而解决了由于缺乏相应的雪莲化合物标准品而难以对雪莲中的成份进行定性定量分析及比较的难题。最后综合利用上述分析方法，对雪莲细胞培养物中的花素类物质进行了分析。结果表明，雪莲细胞中至少含有7种花色素类物质，分别为矢车菊素-3-O-葡萄糖甙及其衍生物、天竺葵素糖甙衍生物和芍药色素糖甙衍生物。

水母雪莲DFR基因的克隆及其正义和反义植物表达载体的构建

水母雪莲（Saussurea medusa Maxim.）为多年生菊科植物，是我国珍稀药用资源。所含的主要生物活性成分是黄酮类物质，具有抗炎、镇痛、免疫抑制及抗氧化等功效。但由于水母雪莲生长环境特殊，生长缓慢，人工引种困难;加上长期掠夺性采挖，造成其野生药用资源短缺，已经不能满足市场的需求。近年来,世界上掀起了植物药开发的热潮,植物药以其天然低毒的特点倍受关注,而黄酮类化合物更是以其广谱的药理作用引人瞩目。 黄酮类化合物的合成代谢途径在植物界进化过程中很保守，黄酮类生物合成途径中的相关酶也已得到确证并进行了系统的研究。二氢黄酮醇-4-还原酶（Dihydroflavonol-4-reductase, DFR）是一个处于花色素或者原花色素合成途径中的关键酶，它与黄酮合成途径中的黄酮醇合成酶（flavonol synthase）竞争底物。本研究以水母雪莲为研究对象，根据近缘物种DFR基因的保守核苷酸序列设计兼并引物，通过PCR技术，从已经建立的水母雪莲红色愈伤组织cDNA文库中筛选到一个编码该酶的cDNA序列，该序列全长1166个碱基对。根据生物信息学分析，此cDNA编码342个氨基酸;Blastp分析结果显示，该氨基酸序列与同科植物翠菊（Callistephus chinensis）的相似性最高，达87%;SWISSMODEL软件预测其蛋白的三级结构与葡萄(Vitis vinifera)的十分相似，活性中心的关键氨基酸残基也完全一致。据此可以断定，我们所得到的cDNA为编码二氢黄酮醇还原酶的基因，并命名为水母雪莲二氢黄酮醇还原酶基因(SmDFR）。为了得到SmDFR的DNA序列，我们又设计特异引物，从水母雪莲的基因组中扩增出了由1871个碱基对组成的DNA序列，该序列包含五个内含子和六个外显子。 为了提高水母雪莲和大苞雪莲中黄酮类物质的含量，我们构建了SmDFR的反义植物表达载体，利用根癌农杆菌介导进行基因转化。通过改变影响农杆菌转化的实验条件包括外植体来源、农杆菌菌株、细菌浓度、外植体预培养时间、侵染时间和乙酰丁香酮的浓度进行转基因试验，目前尚未得到转基因植株。另外，我们构建了SmDFR正义植物表达载体，通过对拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana) DFR基因突变体和矮牵牛(Petunia hybrida)进行基因转化，来验证SmDFR的功能;目前，此实验尚在进行之中。

Further studies on dehydration of prawns in rotary drum dryer

The paper deals with studies made to modify the process of drying of prawns in rotary drum dryer reported by the authors earlier. Prawns belonging to any species except M. monoceros can be satisfactorily dried. With M. monoceros invariably considerable adherence of shell occurs. Prawns of any size group can be dried provided in the case of medium and big size prawns they are beheaded prior to drying. In all size groups, beheading prior to drying results in better appearance of the end product in addition to the output of the dryer per charge being increased.

A survey of process hygiene in the Sri Lankan prawn industry. 1. Hygiene status of raw materials and products

A survey of processing hygiene in the Sri Lankan prawn industry has shown that the incoming raw material has extremely high bacterial loadings; about 50% of samples analysed had a total count in excess of 10,000,000/g. Although beheading reduces the count, ineffective temperature control during processing means that the final total count of raw, shell-on, P.U.D. and P.A.D. prawns, as well as cooked prawns, is in excess of 1,000,000/g. - the maximum level specified by many importing countries.

西藏产雪莲花的化学成分研究

本学位论文报道了作为传统藏药材广泛使用的西藏产雪莲花化学成分的研究。论文由五章组成，第一章是三种西藏产雪莲花的化学成分的系统分离纯化和结构鉴定；第二章为西藏产雪莲花化学成分的液-质及串联质谱联用分析；第三章提出了以HPLC和TLC为检测方法的雪莲花药材质量标准草案；第四章给出了对西藏产雪莲花挥发油化学成分的气-质联用分析结果；第五章概述了雪莲花的化学成分及药理研究进展。 第一章包括三个部分。第一部分报道了绵头雪莲花(Saussurea laniceps Hand.-Mazz.)全草乙醇提取物化学成分的分离鉴定。采用正相硅胶柱层析及凝胶柱层析等分离方法，从西藏产绵头雪莲花的乙醇提取物中共分离鉴定出15个化合物。其中11个化合物为首次从该植物中分离得到，当中2个化合物系在凤毛菊属植物中首次发现。第二部分报道了水母雪莲花(Saussurea medusa Maxim.)全草乙醇提取物的化学成分。采用正、反相硅胶柱层析及凝胶柱层析等分离方法，共分离鉴定出15个化合物，其中1个为新化合物，另有4个化合物为首次从该植物中分离得到。新化合物结构通过质谱和一维及二维核磁共振等波谱解析方法及碱水解反应确定为巴豆酰基-高车前苷(M-7)。第三部分报道了三指雪莲花 (Saussurea tridactyla Sch.-Bip. ex Hook. f.)全草乙醇提取物的化学成分。采用正相硅胶柱层析及凝胶柱层析等分离方法，共分离鉴定出7个化合物，其中1个化合物为首次从该植物中分离得到。 第二章也包括三个部分。首先是采用液-质联用(HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn)分析方法，对7个西藏不同产地的三指雪莲花化学成分进行了分析，通过与标准品的 UV和MS数据比较，共鉴定出14个峰，并对其中8个共有成分进行了定量测定。其次是关于八种西藏产雪莲花化学成分的液-质联用(HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn)分析，通过与标准品的UV和MS数据比较，共鉴定出15个峰，并对其中8个共有成分进行了定量检测。最后通过对八种西藏产雪莲花主要化学成分的多级串联质谱(ESI-MSn)分析，快速、灵敏地鉴定出10个黄酮和3个香豆素化学成分。 第三章同样包括三个部分。首先是以绵头雪莲花中主要香豆素成分东莨菪素和伞形花内酯为对照品，通过TLC定性检测和HPLC含量测定，草拟出较严谨的药材质量标准。其次是将绵头雪莲花、三指雪莲花和雪兔子作为一个药材看待，草拟了以东莨菪素和伞形花内酯的TLC检测为指标的药材质量标准。最后是针对水母雪莲花，以主要黄酮成分芹菜素-7-O-b-D-葡萄糖苷为对照品作TLC检测，并草拟出该药材的质量标准草案。 第四章报道了西藏产雪莲花挥发油的化学成分分析。采用传统水蒸气蒸馏法分别从八种雪莲花全草中提取挥发油，利用气相色谱-质谱联用技术分别从水母雪莲花、绵头雪莲花、槲叶雪莲花、云状雪兔子、拉萨雪兔子、小果雪兔子、雪兔子和三指雪莲花中分别鉴定出83、83、56、34、21、20、24和20个化学成分，分别占其挥发油总量的70.7%、76.0%、82.2%、55.4%、49.7%、70.4 %、76.2%和 76.7%。 第五章为综述，总结和概括了雪莲花的化学和药理研究进展。 The dissertation reports the investigation of the chemical constituents of the genus Saussurea. Quite a lot of species in this genus are traditional Tibetan medicinal plants, and hence have been widely used in traditional Tibetan medicine. This dissertation consisted of five chapters. The first chapter is on the chemical constituents of three Saussurea plants. The second section is about the analysis of chemical constituents of Saussurea plants using HPLC-MS and ESI-MS/MS. In the third chapter, we proposed quality-control standards for the Genus Saussurea based on TLC (thin layer chromatography) and HPLC. The fourth chapter is about chemical compositions of the essential oil from the whole plant of Saussurea plants. The last chapter reviews the research progress of the Genus Saussurea. The first chapter consists of three parts. The first part is about chemical constituents of ethanol extracts from whole plant of Saussurea laniceps Hand.-Mazz. Fifteen compounds were isolated by column chromatography on normal phase silica gel and Sephadex LH-20. Among them, eleven compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time, and two compounds were isolated from Genus Saussurea for the first time. The second part is about chemical constituents of ethanol extracts from whole plant of Saussurea medusa Maxim. Fifteen compounds were isolated by column chromatography on normal phase, reversed phase silica gel and Sephadex LH-20. Five of them were isolated from this plant for the first time, and there is one new flavonoid glucoside which was identified as 6″-O-crotonoyl-homoplantaginin (M-7) based on the evidence of one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry analysis, and alkaline hydrolysis reaction. The last part is about chemical constituents of ethanol extracts from whole plant of Saussurea tridactyla Sch.-Bip. ex Hook. f.. Seven compounds were isolated by column chromatography on normal phase silica gel and Sephadex LH-20. There is one compound which was isolated from this plant for the first time. The second chapter consists of three parts. In the first part, we analyzed the chemical constituents of S. tridactyla collected from seven different places in Tibet using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn. Fourteen peaks in the HPLC were identified by comparison of UV and MS spectra with those of authentic compounds, among which eight common peaks were quantified. In the second part, we analyzed the chemical constituents of eight Saussurea species using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn method. Fifteen peaks in the HPLC were identified by comparison of UV and MS spectra with those of authentic compounds and eight main peaks of them were quantified. In the last part, we analyzed the chemical compounds of the above eight Saussurea plants directly by ESI-MS/MS. Thirteen major compounds, including 10 flavonoids and 3 coumarins were easily rapidly identified. The third chapter consists of three parts. In the first part, we proposed a comparative high quality-control standard for S. laniceps, based on quality detection by TLC and quantity analysis by HPLC using two major compounds (umbelliferone and scopoletin) as standard compounds. In the second part, in viewing S. laniceps, S. tridactyla and S. gossypiphora as the members of one family of medicinal herbs, we suggested a quality-control standard based on the TLC detection of the two major compounds (umbelliferone and scopoletin). In the last part, we proposed a quality-control standard for S. medusa based on the TLC detection of its major component (apigenin 7-O-glucoside). The four chapter analyzed the chemical constituents of essential oil of eight Saussurea species. The essential oils were extracted from the whole plants of these samples with water stream distillation. By GC-MS analysis, we identified eighty-three compounds from S. medusa, eighty-three from S. laniceps, fifty-six from S. quercifolia, thirty-four from S. aster, twenty-one from S. kingii, twenty from S. simpsoniana, twenty-four from S. gossypiphora, and twenty from S. tridactyla respetively, which accounted for 70.7%, 76.0%, 82.2%, 55.4%, 49.7%, 70.4 %, 76.2% and 76.7% of the total essential oil, respectively. The last chapter reviews the research progress of the Genus Saussurea.

光照对水母雪莲愈伤组织合成生物碱的影响

以水母雪链（Saussurea medusa Maxin.）无菌幼苗的根作外植体，诱导获得的愈伤组织为材料，研究光照对生物碱合成的影响。结果表明：尽管在水线雪链的愈伤组织培养物中，总生物碱的含量比原植株中的含量低，但其组成成分比原植物丰富，并且秋水仙碱的含量也比原植物高，尤其是在光照培养的愈伤组织中秋水仙碱大大增加。

The Celtic dragon slayer - a literary analysis of Tochmarc Emire in connection with Tristan et Iseut

As Celtic scholars have long noted, the medieval Irish tale Tochmarc Emire “The Courtship of Emer” is heavily indebted to other medieval Irish texts. In this tale of courtship and otherworldly quests, the Irish hero Cú Chulainn must prove himself worthy of the hand of the noblewoman Emer. Among his overseas adventures, Cú Chulainn rescues a princess from three attackers of the Fomoire. This episode may represent the only medieval Irish example of AT300 “The Dragon Slayer”, a story pattern known from classical models such as the stories of Perseus and Andromeda; and Hercules and Hesione. Moreover, in the company of Cú Chulainn we find a character otherwise unknown to Irish tradition by the name of Drust mac Seirb. This has led scholars to argue that Tochmarc Emire may preserve a Celtic precursor of the Continental Tristan legend, seeing in Drust the Pictish origin of the character Tristan, himself a famous dragon slayer. In this interdisciplinary dissertation, a number of questions are addressed. If the redactor of Tochmarc Emire drew on material from outside Irish tradition, what does this tell us about medieval Irish concepts of literature and genre? Further, what evidence do we have for tracing the origin of the Continental Tristan legend back to Pictland, and what explanation might we offer for a putative Pictish prince featuring in an Irish Dragon Slayer story? Finally, what place does the Dragon Slayer episode occupy within Tochmarc Emire and can we find other narratives, Celtic or classical or other, fitting the pattern of AT300, which may strengthen the link between Tochmarc Emire and Tristan?

The conflict between realism and abstraction in the field of spanish art as an iteration of la "Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes"

Based on the analysis model favored by the study of the conditions in which the seventeenth century Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes took place, we examine the case of confrontation between realism and abstraction, which occurred in the context of Spanish art in the nineties of the twentieth century. Connections are established with other aesthetic conflicts which are considered part of a genealogy whose most explicit antecedent could be placed in the before mentioned complaint, such as the confrontation between realism and abstraction in the American art scene, which occurred in the fifties of the last century, and the more recent controversy on pluralism and the end of art.

Forma y transgresión: el discurso del arte

El arte, en sus diferentes campos, desarrolla un tipo de discurso que nada tiene que ver con el de otros ámbitos. Se vale de combinaciones de elementos diversos, normalmente pertenecientes a lenguajes convencionales, para elaborar un enunciado único y nuevo, donde una idea encuentra finalmente su forma. El contenido y la estructura se fusionan en un punto indisoluble. En este artículo se plantean las búsquedas de paradigmas clásicos de la forma artística y una reflexión al respecto desde el ámbito de las Artes Visuales. Se parte de la consideración que durante muchos siglos se tenía de la representación o imitación de la realidad no solo como vehículo de la expresión sino como la finalidad del arte. Se continua por el foco que la Transgresión de Dadá estableció en aquellas formas artísticas que buscan una conmoción emocional para que la creación alcance los territorios íntimos del receptor. Por último, se explica el fundamental hallazgo de Duchamp de señalar que es el propio discurso de la obra el que proporciona un nuevo pensamiento al mundo.

Joaquim Mir y la tienda de juguetes: microhistoria de un retrato

¿Puede un retrato pictórico suscitar un ejercicio de microhistoria? Nuestra investigación tratará de aportar una respuesta positiva a esta cuestión, analizando para ello uno de los pocos retratos del pintor postimpresionista Joaquim Mir Trinxet, fechado en 1926. El protagonista representado no es otro que el suegro del pintor, Antoni Estalella i Trinxet, un insigne personaje de Vilanova y la Geltrú (Barcelona) que vivió entre dos siglos. La obra está ambientada en la tienda de juguetes de la familia, convirtiéndose así en una de las escasas pinturas que han captado el interior de una juguetería en la España anterior a la Guerra Civil. Gracias a los trabajos de archivo realizados, este artículo reúne diversos documentos inéditos que permiten reconstruir no sólo la vida del retratado, que llegó a ser corresponsal de Francisco Pi y Margall, sino también el ambiente social, artístico y comercial de Vilanova, en un período que abarca desde la década de 1870 a la primera mitad del siglo XX, en plena “Edad de Oro” de la industria juguetera. Es esta una propuesta de metodología historiográfica cuyo recorrido comienza en el oficio arcaico de la tonelería para desembocar al fin en los albores del comercio moderno de juguetes.

Stranding events provide indirect insights into the seasonality and persistence of jellyfish medusae (Cnidaria : Scyphozoa)

It is becoming increasingly evident that jellyfish (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) play an important role within marine ecosystems, yet our knowledge of their seasonality and reproductive strategies is far from complete. Here, we explore a number of life history hypotheses for three common, yet poorly understood scyphozoan jellyfish (Rhizostoma octopus; Chrysaora hysoscella; Cyanea capillata) found throughout the Irish and Celtic Seas. Specifically, we tested whether (1) the bell diameter/wet weight of stranded medusae increased over time in a manner that suggested a single synchronised reproductive cohort; or (2) whether the range of sizes/weights remained broad throughout the stranding period suggesting the protracted release of ephyrae over many months. Stranding data were collected at five sites between 2003 and 2006 (n = 431 surveys; n = 2401 jellyfish). The relationship between bell diameter and wet weight was determined for each species (using fresh specimens collected at sea) so that estimates of wet weight could also be made for stranded individuals. For each species, the broad size and weight ranges of stranded jellyfish implied that the release of ephyrae may be protracted (albeit to different extents) in each species, with individuals of all sizes present in the water column during the summer months. For R. octopus, there was a general increase in both mean bell diameter and wet weight from January through to June which was driven by an increase in the variance and overall range of both variables during the summer. Lastly, we provide further evidence that rhizostome jellyfish may over-wintering as pelagic medusa which we hypothesise may enable them to capitalise on prey available earlier in the year.