莫桑比克伊尼亚卡岛的珊瑚礁生长:珊瑚群落与1999/2000年南部非洲洪水对其造成的影响

引言 在过去几十年中进行的调查工作使我们对低纬度珊瑚礁的生长有了较清楚的认识.生长在这些环境(往往在温度、盐度和光照方面处于理想的条件下)中的珊瑚虫能够形成在空间上非常重要的珊瑚礁结构.在清澈的水体中,水下100m多的地方都有珊瑚生长[1,2],但据报道,在较浅的地方,碳酸盐净累积速度为0.83～0.91kg CaCO3/m2@a[3,4].     

Greenhouse Gas Inventory for Land Use Change and Forestry in Finland Based on International Guidelines

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were used to assess a greenhouse gas inventory for land use change and...     

Early amniocentesis at 11–14 weeks' gestation for the diagnosis of fetal chromosomal abnormality—a clinical evaluation

Early arnniocentesis between 11 and 14 weeks' gestation was offered to 110 women at risk of a chromosomally abnormal fetus due to maternal age. Four were found to be unsuitable for the procedure, and 106 early amniocenteses were performed. In 102 cases, clear amniotic fluid was obtained with a single tap. There were two dry taps and two bloodstained tapis; sampling was repeated in three of these cases before 15 weeks. In the fourth case, placental biopsy was performed at 16 weeks. Thus, we were able to obtain a satisfactory sample in all but three cases(2.8 percent). Karyotyping of cells harvested from the early amniotic fluid samples was successful in all the 105 cases. Cell culture from the initial samples revealed a normal karyotype in 99 cases, two balanced translocations, two tetraploid karyotypes, and two cases of pseudomosaicism. Of the 105 pregnancies successfully sampled, there have been two losses to date (1–8 per cent). Two further patients presented with premature rupture of membranes, both pregnancies having successful outcomes. Sixty-two babies have delivered to date, with four congenital anomalies. There were no respiratory problems. Twenty-nine pregnancies are continuing without known complications, and details are not yet available on the remaining 12. The results indicate that early arnniocentesis may replace the traditional test at 15–17 weeks.     

Insect damage influences heat and water stress resistance gene expression in field-grown popcorn: implications in developing crop varieties adapted to climate change

Warming climatic conditions can pose problems for crop production in many parts of the world, but detailed information on the expression of heat and drought stress resistance genes of potentially affected crop plants is lacking. This information is important to have in order to most efficiently guide the breeding of crops that are adapted to new climatic conditions. A maize (Zea mays) gene microarray, a method used worldwide to evaluate the expression of tens of thousands of genes at once, was used to investigate changes in expression of genes involved in resistance to heat and water stress in milk stage popcorn kernels from undamaged and insect-damaged ears. Popcorn is a form of maize that is more susceptible to heat and drought stress due to its smaller root system. In years of heat and drought stress, expression of many heat shock- and senescence-related proteins increased compared to the year when weather was closer to average conditions, but the expression of many genes related to drought stress resistance decreased in years of weather stress. A different complex of heat shock protein and water stress resistance protein genes had higher expression in kernels from undamaged compared to insect-damaged ears in years of heat and drought stress. These results indicate that the interaction of biotic components, such as insects, are important to consider in developing crop lines with adaptation to stress as this will help identify additional genes and their regulatory components involved in heat and drought stress resistance that might otherwise be overlooked, and will likely be an important strategy for the most effective development of climate stress-tolerant crops globally.     

Shifting wavelengths of ultraweak photon emissions from dying melanoma cells: their chemical enhancement and blocking are predicted by Cosic’s theory of resonant recognition model for macromolecules

During the first 24 h after removal from incubation, melanoma cells in culture displayed reliable increases in emissions of photons of specific wavelengths during discrete portions of this interval. Applications of specific filters revealed marked and protracted increases in infrared (950 nm) photons about 7 h after removal followed 3 h later by marked and protracted increases in near ultraviolet (370 nm) photon emissions. Specific wavelengths within the visible (400 to 800 nm) peaked 12 to 24 h later. Specific activators or inhibitors for specific wavelengths based upon Cosic’s resonant recognition model elicited either enhancement or diminishment of photons at the specific wavelength as predicted. Inhibitors or activators predicted for other wavelengths, even within 10 nm, were less or not effective. There is now evidence for quantitative coupling between the wavelength of photon emissions and intrinsic cellular chemistry. The results are consistent with initial activation of signaling molecules associated with infrared followed about 3 h later by growth and protein-structural factors associated with ultraviolet. The greater-than-expected photon counts compared with raw measures through the various filters, which also function as reflective material to other photons, suggest that photons of different wavelengths might be self-stimulatory and could play a significant role in cell-to-cell communication.     

Are dioxin-like contaminants responsible for the eel (Anguilla anguilla) drama?

Eel populations worldwide are dangerously close to collapsing. Our study is the first to show that current levels of dioxin-like contaminants are strong candidates because of their devastating effects on development and survival of eel embryos. Female and male silver eels were artificially stimulated to maturation and reproduction by treatment with carp pituitary extracts and hCG, respectively. During maturation of female European silver eels, about 60 g fat per kg eel is incorporated in the oocytes. Together with the fat, however, persistent organic pollutants such as dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are incorporated too. The total dioxin-like toxic potency of the individual gonad batches was determined as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxine equivalents (TEQs), using an in vitro reporter gene assay. The observed differences in development and survival showed a significant negative correlation with the TEQ levels in the gonads, already at levels far below the maximal allowable level for fish consumption, i.e., 4 ng TEQ/kg fish. The clear inverse relationship between the TEQ level and the survival period of the fertilised eggs strongly suggests that the current levels of dioxin-like compounds seriously impair the reproduction of the European eel. The peak of the environmental levels of dioxin-like PCBs and the decline of eel coincide worldwide, further suggesting that, in addition to other threats, these contaminants contributed significantly to the current collapse in eel populations.     

Presence of Torque Teno Virus (TTV) in Tap Water in Public Schools from Southern Brazil

Torque teno virus (TTV) was surveyed in tap water collected in schools from three municipalities located in the south of Brazil. TTV genomes were found in 11.7 % (4/34) of the samples. TTV DNA was detected in 10.5 % (2/19) of the samples collected at the city of Caxias do Sul and in 25 % (2/8) of the samples from Pelotas. Those cities have a low rate of sewage treatment. All samples from Santa Cruz do Sul, which has nearly 92 % of its sewage treated, were negative. These results suggest that the amount of sewage treated may have an effect on the detection rates of TTV DNA in drinking water in a given urban area, showing a mild negative correlation (r = ?0.76), when comparing the percentage of sewage treatment to the detection of TTV genomes. The detection rate of TTV was also compared with Escherichia coli, showing a strong correlation (r = 0.97), indicating that TTV may be a suitable marker of fecal contamination.