Effect of hybridization with genome exclusion on extinction risk

Human‐induced habitat changes may lead to the breakdown of reproductive barriers between distantly related species. This phenomenon may result in fertile first‐generation hybrids (F₁) that exclude the genome of one parental species during gametogenesis, thus disabling introgression. The species extinction risk associated with hybridization with genome exclusion is largely underappreciated because the phenomenon produces only F₁ hybrid phenotype, leading to the misconception that hybrids are sterile and potentially of minor conservation concern. We used a simulation model that integrates the main genetic, demographic, and ecological processes to examine the dynamics of hybridization with genome exclusion. We showed that this mode of hybridization may lead to extremely rapid extinction when the process of genome exclusion is unbalanced between the interbreeding species and when the hybridization rate is not negligible. The coexistence of parental species was possible in some cases of asymmetrical genome exclusion, but show this equilibrium was highly vulnerable to environmental variation. Expanding the exclusive habitat of the species at risk allowed its persistence. Our results highlight the extent of possible extinction risk due to hybridization with genome exclusion and suggest habitat management as a promising conservation strategy. In anticipation of serious threats to biodiversity due to hybridization with genome exclusion, we recommend a detailed assessment of the reproductive status of hybrids in conservation programs. We suggest such assessments include the inspection of genetic content in hybrid gametes.     

培养基对大型溞(Daphnia magna)生长、繁殖和子代的影响

大型溞(Daphnia magna)急性活动抑制试验和繁殖试验是研究和评价新化学物质对水生生物危害性的重要手段之一。由于经济合作与发展组织(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD)测试导则推荐的Elendt M4培养基中含有的乙二胺四乙酸(EDTA)可能会影响金属离子的活性,不适合用于含有金属离子样品的毒理学测试。为选出合适的替代培养基,采用Elendt M4培养基、美国材料与试验协会(American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM)推荐的ASTM培养基和国际标准化组织(International Organization for Standardization, ISO)推荐的ISO培养基进行大型溞繁殖试验,并收集繁殖试验中亲溞产下的非头胎幼溞进行重铬酸钾的急性活动抑制试验。结果表明,3种培养基对大型溞的生长、存活均无抑制作用,ASTM培养基和ISO培养基中大型溞的繁殖量分别为111±10和70±13,显著低于Elendt M4培养基的132±4 (P 0.05)。3种培养基中大型溞的繁殖量均能满足OECD 211-2012大型溞繁殖试验标准中繁殖量大于60的要求,但在ISO培养基中有死胎出现。重铬酸钾对Elendt M4培养基、ASTM培养基和ISO培养基中繁殖幼溞的24 h半数效应浓度(24 h-EC_(50))值分别为1.29、1.84和0.772 mg·L~(-1),均在OECD 202-2004大型溞急性活动抑制试验标准要求的0.6～2.1 mg·L~(-1)范围内,说明3种培养基中繁殖的大型溞均能用于大型溞急性活动抑制试验的标准测试中。综上所述,进行含有金属离子样品的毒理测试时,ASTM培养基和ISO培养基均可用于大型溞的短期驯养和急性活动抑制试验,ASTM培养基还可以用于长期驯养和繁殖试验。以上结果为大型溞毒性试验中试验培养基的选择提供理论依据。     

The detection of dioxin- and estrogen-like pollutants in marine and freshwater fishes cultivated in Pearl River Delta, China

In this study we aimed to assess the dioxin- and estrogen-like activities of contaminants extracted from twenty species of freshwater and seawater fishes, using luciferase reporter assays. Transfected MCF7 cells were treated with sample extracts and luciferase activities were then measured at 24-h of post-treatment. The mean values of the detected dioxin- and estrogen-like activities in the freshwater fishes were 25.3 pg TEQ/g ww and 102.3 pM EEQ/g ww whereas in the seawater fishes, the values were 46.2 pg TEQ/g ww and 118.8 pM EEQ/g ww. Using sample-relevant dosage of estrogen, inductions of cell proliferation markers (i.e. retinoblastoma, cyclin D) and stimulations of cell growth were revealed by Western blotting, colony formation and BrdU uptake assays. A cotreatment with TCDD significantly reduced these effects. Using the sample extracts with different dioxin- and estrogen-like activities, similar observation was revealed. The data highlighted the mixture effect of food contaminants on human health.     

Describing the annual cyclic behaviour of Be concentrations in surface air in Oceania

Surface air concentrations of ⁷Be at a number of stations in Oceania show a distinct annual cycle. We apply a sinusoidal model to describe this cycle. The results show that peak ⁷Be concentrations in surface air occur during early spring at tropical latitudes and during mid-to-late summer at middle latitudes. Comparison with available ⁹⁰Sr surface air data for the southern hemisphere indicates that stratosphere-to-troposphere exchange is an active atmospheric process controlling the ⁷Be annual cycle throughout the Oceania region. Vertical transport of air within the troposphere also seems to influence the observed annual cycle. Seasonality in rainfall is not thought to control the annual cyclic behaviour of ⁷Be in surface air.     

Investor demand and spot commodity prices

The on-going debate over the influence of investor demand on spot commodity prices largely attempts to assess this influence by measuring the growth in investor demand in recent years. Given the serious data problems that plague such analyses, this article pursues another approach in the hope of providing useful insights into the impact of investor demand on spot commodity prices. It focuses on the mechanisms by which investor demand affects spot prices, and in particular on two questions. First, how does an increase in investor demand on the futures markets affect the spot market and spot price? Second, when investor demand is increasing and pushing a commodity's price up, do physical stocks of the commodity also have to be rising, as economists and others widely assume?On the first question, the article concludes that a surge in investor demand raising prices on the futures markets will have a direct and comparable effect on the spot market prices when these markets are in strong contango. However, when markets are in weak contango or backwardation, price movements in the futures markets have a much looser effect on spot prices. As a result, changes in investor demand on the futures markets may have little or no influence on spot prices in the absence of a strong contango. Instead, changes in fundamentals (that is, producer supply and consumer demand) and possibly changes in investor demand taking place directly on the spot market largely determine the spot price at such times.On the second question, the article shows that investor demand can be pushing up a commodity's price even when investor stocks are falling, despite the widespread presumption to the contrary.     

Comparative analysis of permanent post-disaster houses constructed in Çankırı and Dinar

A major challenge after an earthquake is how to establish a new residential area of a similar or even improved standard for people who have suffered psychological, social and economic impacts and witnessed significant damage to the physical environment. As part of a research project conducted in 2005 and 2008, questionnaires were administered to the permanent occupiers of post‐disaster houses in the Turkish cities of Çank?r? and Dinar. They were asked to compare the comfort levels and other characteristics of the houses in which they now reside with those of the traditional houses in which they used to live. The survey revealed that such aspects do not differ between the two types of accommodation. However, differences were identified between the two areas under review (Çank?r? and Dinar). In addition, average scores for traditional houses were higher than those for post‐disaster houses in both places.     

Pre- and perinatal findings in partial trisomy 7q resulting from balanced parental translocations t(7;21) and t(4;7)

We report on a fetus and a newborn, both with partial trisomy 7q21→qter due to different familial translocations, t(7;21)(q21.2;p12) and t(4;7)(q35;q21.2). Postmortem examination of the 19-week-old female fetus disclosed dysmorphic features, cleft palate, anomalies of the great vessels, intestinal malrotation and uterus bicornis. The newborn girl revealed a pattern of minor anomalies, cleft palate, cerebellar hypoplasia, and anomalies of pancreas, gall bladder and appendix. The clinical findings in three other reported fetuses with partial trisomy 7q described so far are reviewed. A duplication 7q21→qter, as found in the propositi, has only been described in 11 patients who all had a concurrent partial monosomy. Patient 1 is particularly interesting since she is, to our knowledge, the first reported case with pure trisomy 7q21/22→qter. We reviewed the phenotype of the previously described patients, compared it with the propositae, and summarized the clinical features of pure trisomy 7q21/22→qter. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of the Conservation Measures Partnership's effort to improve conservation outcomes through adaptive management

Conservation practice has demonstrated an increasing desire for accountability of actions, particularly with respect to effectiveness, efficiency, and impact to clearly identified objectives. This has been accompanied by increased attention to achieving adaptive management. In 2002, practitioners representing several prominent conservation nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) launched a community of practice called the Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP). The partnership CMP has worked to establish standards of conservation practice to improve accountability of conservation actions through adaptive management. The focal organizing framework for CMP has been the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (OS). We evaluated, through an online survey and personal interviews, the first decade of CMP and the OS. The CMP has garnered a positive reputation among agencies, NGOs, and funders and has succeeded in developing a large user base of the OS. However, CMP has not fully achieved its goal of making the OS standard operating procedure for the largest NGOs (e.g., The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund), despite it being widely used within these organizations. This lack of institutionalization is attributable to multiple causes, including an increase in the number of partially overlapping decision‐support frameworks and challenges achieving full‐cycle adaptive management. Users strongly believed the OS fosters better conservation practice and highly valued the OS for improving their practice. A primary objective of the OS is to assist practitioners to achieve full‐cycle adaptive management to better integrate learning into improving the effectiveness and efficiency of actions. However, most practitioners had not yet achieved cycle completion for their projects. To improve the effectiveness of CMP, OS, and conservation practice in general, we recommend collaborative efforts among the proponents of multiple decision‐support frameworks to foster strong institutional adoption of a common set of adaptive‐management standards for conservation accountability.     

锰氧化物八面体分子筛活化过一硫酸氢盐降解酸性橙7

采用无溶剂法制备了氧化锰八面体分子筛（OMS-2）,通过XRD、FT-IR、SEM、TEM及N2吸附-脱附等温线等对其结构进行了表征,并以典型难降解偶氮染料酸性橙7（AO7）为目标污染物,考察了OMS-2活化过一硫酸氢盐（PMS）降解AO7的性能。研究结果发现,无溶剂法制备的OMS-2呈纳米棒状,为典型的锰钾矿型结构,比表面积达到129 m2·g-1,平均粒径10.5 nm左右。OMS-2催化剂能够高效催化PMS产生活性自由基降解偶氮染料,反应10 min内可使AO7几乎完全脱色,重复使用10次均能保持较高的催化稳定性;脱色降解后染料分子中的共轭体系和芳香环结构被破坏。     

一株异养硝化-好氧反硝化功能菌的分离鉴定及其脱氮特性

从活性污泥中筛选出一株具有异养硝化同时好氧反硝化功能菌N7,经分析鉴定为Acinetobacter calcoaceticus（醋酸钙不动杆菌）。以硫酸铵为氮源、丁二酸钠为碳源,菌株N7对NH4+-N去除率高达99.2%,TN去除率为67.1%,异养硝化效果较好。分别以硝酸钾和亚硝酸钠为氮源,在30℃,150 r·min-1下培养,其TN去除率分别为62.7%和75.0%,表明N7具有良好的好氧反硝化效果。单因素实验结果表明菌株N7的最佳反硝化条件为：温度30℃、转速230 r·min-1、C/N 35、pH 8.1。