Investigation of Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Cs Partitioning in Eriophorum Vaginatum L. in Relation to its Nutrient Retrieval and Storage Strategy

Relatively high levels of ¹³⁷Cs from the Chernobyl accident in indigenous vegetation in infertile upland habitats in the UK have been partly attributed to strategies that permit efficient use of limited nutrient resources. This study investigated temporal and spatial patterns of ¹³⁷Cs allocation in Eriophorum vaginatum L. (hare’s-tail cotton-grass) in relation to its nutrient retrieval and storage strategy. Plants were labelled with ¹³⁷Cs via root uptake in April 1995 and dissected components were analysed on six occasions over the following 16 months. ¹³⁷Cs remained relatively mobile in the plants and was re-circulated to new leaves and roots that were initiated after the labelling event. The retrieval of ¹³⁷Cs from maturing leaves was less efficient than that documented for K and this represented a significant loss process of ¹³⁷Cs from the biomass. A greater loss of ¹³⁷Cs occurred through the roots. Consequently, successively produced leaves contained progressively less ¹³⁷Cs and an exponential decline in the maximum pool of ¹³⁷Cs (i.e. the maximum accumulation of ¹³⁷Cs activity measured in a leaf) in successively produced leaves was observed. This study provides direct evidence that strategies that minimise nutrient losses and permit efficient use of limited nutrient resources in deciduous graminoids also prolong the presence of ¹³⁷Cs in the vegetation of E. vaginatum.     

罗斯比中心区域气候模型Ⅰ:对当前欧洲气候的气候学及性能模拟

描述了罗斯比中心区域气候模型(RCA2)并依据观测评估了其对整个欧洲当前气候的模拟结果.指出了模型平均气候和气候变率中的系统偏差,确定了关键参数化的缺欠.对一些近地面参数,尤其是温度、降水、地表能量收支和云量进行了较为详细的研究.模型模拟的最近的气候和变率与真实情况高度吻合.强调了地表辐射收支分量的补偿误差,这些偏差的基本原因追溯到云、降水和辐射参数化的相关方面.模型有过于频繁产生小量级降水的倾向,这直接影响到云-辐射相互作用和地表温度的模拟.在评估由分析的边界条件驱动的高分辨率RCM时,对观测结果的使用要非常小心.当考虑到降水和云量时更是如此,因为观测的不确定性经常大于RCM的偏差.     

Human chorionic gonadotropin levels in pregnancies with aneuploid fetuses

Maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and the free alpha-hCG subunit were evaluated in 249 women from 9 to 11 weeks gestation who subsequently underwent chorionic villus sampling for determination of fetal karyotype and in 20 women of 18 or more weeks gestation who were ascertained to have an aneuploid fetus by genetic amniocentesis. Seven of the first-trimester pregnancies were determined to be aneuploid and six had hCG levels in the normal range (one triploid pregnancy had elevated hCG levels) whereas 12 of the 20 secondtrimester cases had abnormal hCG levels and an additional three had elevated levels of alpha-hCG. This study confirms the previous report of abnormal maternal serum hCG levels in women with an aneuploid fetus at ≥ 18 weeks gestation and demonstrates that hCG evaluation is not useful at 9–11 weeks gestation for selecting pregnancies at risk for fetal aneuploidy.     

Enhancement of amniocyte growth on a precoated surface

This study investigates whether cell-free amniotic fluid facilitates cell attachment to the surface of culture plates and thereby promotes rapid amniocyte growth. Isolated or pooled cell-free amniotic fluid samples at different volumes were added to culture plates. Trypsinized subcultures, grown in Eagle's minimum essential alpha medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum (4–20 per cent), were monitored by cell counts. The results demonstrated growth stimulation on culture plates precoated with amniotic fluid. The minimal time for coating the culture plates was 6h. Maximal coating was observed after an overnight incubation with 2–3 ml of the fluid per culture vessel. No synergistic effect from addition of fetal bovine serum to amniotic fluid was observed. A freshly coated surface provided the best amniocyte growth. When primary cultures are grown on a precoated surface, there is an increase in colony counts in 80 per cent of the samples tested. This method may be used to improve amniocyte growth, especially in samples with relatively small numbers of cells.     

罗斯比中心区域气候模型Ⅱ:北极圈气候的应用

作为ARCMIP国际计划的一部分,罗斯比中心区域气候模型(RCA2)针对整个北冰洋地区的气候作了数值模拟整合,并与来自sHEBA数据集的观测资料作了比较,RCA2标准模型对北极冬季的云量和长波辐射的模拟较实况偏多.通过引入新的云量参数化方案(该参数化方案显著地改进了云量的年循环)减少了这部分误差,确定了介于晴空向下大气长波辐射与云层底部的长波辐射的补偿率,利用可以更准确描述冰晶与太阳辐射相互作用的辐射方案修正了模型,从而使得模型对云-太阳辐射间的相互作用的描述更接近实际.在模拟晴空辐射部分,由于太阳辐射大气透射率过大,经常在边界层云的顶部产生正偏差.引入真实海冰和积雪两种表面反照率的时间变化,对准确模拟地面能量净收支是至关重要的.同样,为了准确模拟北极圈地区近地面的热力学过程,将雪面温度作为预报量引入模型中也似乎是必不可少的.     

Prenatal diagnosis of a craniopharyngioma using ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging

We report an infant with a craniopharyngioma which was detected in utero. Maternal uterine ultrasonography, done at 27 weeks because of polyhydramnios, revealed a 4 cm midline mass near the base of the fetal skull. At 31 weeks, magnetic resonance imaging of the maternal abdomen confirmed the presence of a mass in the region of the third ventricle and revealed hydrocephalus. Two days post-partum a computed tomography (CT)-guided needle biopsy of the mass was performed and recovered tissue which was histologically consistent with a craniopharyngioma. The infant' s postnatal period was complicated by seizures, which were treated with phenobarbital, and by progressive hydrocephalus, necessitating placement of a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt. He also received therapy for central hypothyroidism and diabetes insipidus. The infant' s parents refused permission for attempted resection of the tumour and he died at 8 weeks of age. This represents the second reported case of an antenatally detected craniopharyngioma. Four other cases of different intracranial tumours have been detected in utero using ultrasound, with no reported survivors past 3 days of age. There is a uniformly poor prognosis of such infants, but earlier diagnosis and intervention may change this result.     

Necrophysiological determination of blood pressure in fishes

Bony fishes have an elastic chamber between the heart and aorta, the bulbus arteriosus, which has unique mechanical properties. On inflation, the isolated bulbus is initially very stiff but soon becomes extremely compliant yielding a steady (plateau) pressure upon further inflation, which appears to be similar in any given species. Here we show that the plateau pressure correlates with mean blood pressure determined in vivo. Consequently, inflation of the bulbus can be used to determine blood pressure in the living animal from recordings made after it is dead.     

Sclerochronological records of temperature and growth from shells of Mercenaria mercenaria from Narragansett Bay,Rhode Island

Annual internal growth increments in shells of hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) provide an accurate record of both growth history and some types of environmental change. These increments were used to determine age and growth rate of hard clams collected in 1984–1985 from ten sites in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA, and to assess geographic variation in growth within the bay. The regional comparisons were facilitated by modeling the clam growth using the von Bertalanffy equation and the parameter of Gallucci and Quinn. The optimum region for hard clam growth was near the head of the bay, with areas further north (Providence River) and south (lower bay) not as productive. The relationship between size and age was similar to that reported for hard clams from northern New Jersey. Using dendrochronological techniques, variations in growth were analyzed on a temporal (year-to-year) basis. The comparative longevity of the hard clams (individuals with 40 annual bands were encountered) demonstrated that sclerochronologies of several decades were possible. A 26 yr growth record based upon 100 individuals was established, covering the years 1959–1984. Significant temporal variations occurred in bivalve growth, and a broad trend of increasing growth indices over the last two decades of the record was noted. The yearly standardized growth index values were highly and positively correlated with mean annual water temperatures in Narragansett Bay for the same time interval. The incremental shell records of these bivalves provide a quantitative indication of marine climatic (temperature) variability and growth which can be used in hindcasting the effects of natural or anthropogenic environmental perturbations.