The observed currents in summer in the Bohai Sea

A harmonic method was used to analyze the tidal currents observed in summer at 11 stations made from 1996 to 2001 in the Bohai Sea, China. Data was compared among different instruments and intervals. Elliptic elements were calculated based on harmonic constants, of which vertical distributions of the maximum speed and rotation direction were discussed for understanding the characteristics of diurnal and semi-diurnal tidal current components. The results indicate that the maximum speed of M2 tidal current component is much larger than that of K1; the rotation direction of M2 tidal current constituent is clockwise in the central part of the Bohai Sea and in the Laizhou Bay, but anticlockwise in the Liaodong Bay and Bohai Bay. For K1 tidal current constituent, it is clockwise in the central Bohai Sea but anti-clockwise in the Laizhou Bay and Liaodong Bay. The tidal currents in most stations in the Bohai Sea were regular semidiurnal except for those in the central Bohai Sea, being irregular semidiurnal.     

Advance in Application of Regional Climate Models in China

Regional climate models have become the powerful tools for simulating regional climate and its change process and have been widely used in China. Using regional climate models, some research results have been obtained on the following aspects： 1） the numerical simulation of East Asian monsoon climate, including exceptional monsoon precipitation, summer precipitation distribution, East Asian circulation, multi-year climate average condition, summer rain belt and so on; 2） the simulation of arid climate of the western China, including thermal effect of the Qinghal-Tibet Plateau, the plateau precipitation in the Qilian Mountains; and the impacts of greenhouse effects （CO2 doubling） upon climate in the western China; and 3） the simulation of the climate effect of underlying surface changes, including the effect of soil on climate formation, the influence of terrain on precipitation, the effect of regional soil degradation on regional climate, the effect of various underlying surfaces on regional climate, the effect of land-sea contrast on the climate formulation, the influence of snow cover over the plateau regions on the regional climate, the effect of vegetation changes on the regional climate, etc. In the process of application of regional climate models, the preferences of the models are improved so that better simulation results are gotten. At last, some suggestions are made about the application of regional climate models in regional climate research in the future.     

Lithological indicators of discontinuities in mountain soils rich in calcium carbonate in the Polish Carpathians

Six soils located within the Polish Carpathians,developed on calcium carbonate–rich sedimentary parent materials and representing various reference groups,were investigated in order to detect the lithic discontinuity.We propose using a multidirectional approach to assess the lithic discontinuity in these soils,one that includes grain size distribution,geochemical composition,heavy mineral content and micromorphology,supported by a traditional soil survey.A further aim of this process was to identify the possible admixture of allochthonous material of aeolian origin.The studied soils presented lithic discontinuities mostly at the contact of underlying calcium carbonate–rich coarsegrained slope deposits with the overlaying colluvium layer having a lower content of rock fragments.The significant changes in grain size distribution,especially in the silt and sand content,as well as high Uniformity Values and partially,high Lithological Discontinuity Index values,confirmed the occurrence of a lithic discontinuity in all studied soils.High heterogeneity in the soil profiles was also confirmed by the distribution of the major oxides;however,their distribution did not clearly indicate the lithic discontinuity.The most visible distinctions were noted from CaO content,which resulted from the deposition of carbonate-free materials(aeolian silts)and their mixing with the calcium carbonate–rich parent material.Furthermore,the analysis of heavy mineral content confirmed the allochthonous origin of the upper(and in some cases also the middle)parts of all profiles,which was manifested by the presence of highly weathering-resistant minerals such as zircon,epidote and various types of garnets.The micromorphological features of some of the studied soils showed distinctiveness within the soil profile,manifested by changes in b-fabric pattern,the occurrence and distribution of secondary carbonate and the coarse and fine coarse and fine ratio.Based on the high content of silt within the upper and middle parts of the soils,the content of Hf and Zr,as well as the higher content of weathering-resistant minerals,admixture of aeolian silt could be considered in some of the studied soils,yet with weak character.However,the dominance of minerals typical for metamorphic and igneous rocks suggested that the supply of aeolian silt was associated with loess covers rather than local sedimentary material.     

Current observations in the southern Yellow Sea in summer

Current data from three moored Acoustic Doppler Profilers (ADPs) deployed in the southern Yellow Sea at sites A (1-24.17°E, 34.82°N), B (122.82°E, 35.65°N) in summer 2001 and site C (120.85°E, 34.99°N) in summer 2003 were analyzed in this paper. Features of the tidal and residual currents were studied with rotary spectral and cross-spectral methods. Main achievements were as follows: 1) Tides dominated the currents. At sites A and B, the semidiurnal tidal current was basically homogeneous in the whole depth, taking a clockwise rotation at site A, and near-rectilinear counterclockwise rotation at site B; while the diurnal tidal current was strong and clockwise near the surface, but decreased and turned counterclockwise with depth; at site C, semidiurnal tidal current dominated and diurnal current took the second, both of which were counterclockwise and vertically homogeneous. Inertial motion contributed to the clockwise component of diurnal fluctuations; 2) The 3-5d fluctuation of residual current w     

β-diversity Patterns of Plant Community in Fragmented Habitat in a Degenerated Meadow in Songnen Plain, China

A number of isolated islands of Leymus chinensis + herbosa community were investigated in fragmented habitat islands, by Braun-Blanquet field survey approach, in a degenerated meadow in the Songnen Plain, China in 2007. These islands were classified as large, medium, and small scales on the basis of the island area (100–1000m², large island; 50–100m², middle island; 10–50m², small island). Each scale of the investigation involved eight islands. The responses of β-diversity patterns of plant taxon to the habitat fragmentation at local community and metacommunity levels were analyzed on different scales of 24 isolated islands. The results indicated that at the local community level, there were 57 species belonging to 20 families and 49 genera in large islands, 49 species belonging to 16 families and 40 genera in middle islands, and 27 species belonging to eight families and 23 genera in small islands. β-diversity indexes for species, genus and family in large, middle, and small islands varied greatly, and the highest value of the indexes was not noted in the largest island. However, the average of the data obtained at the three scales showed that across large islands, Whittaker indexes were low and Bray-Curtis similarity indexes were high, while across small islands, Whittaker indexes were high and Bray-Curtis similarity indexes were low. At the metacommunity level, Whittaker indexes for species and genus showed a great significantly negative double logarithmic correlation (p<0.01) with the island area, whereas the Bray-Curtis indexes for species, genus and family showed a great significantly positive double logarithmic correlation (p<0.01) with the island area. At both local community and metacommunity levels, turnovers of species and genus could respond more sensitively to spatial changes of plant diversity patterns than that of family. Hence, the species and the genus could be used for the analysis of β-diversity patterns of plant community.     

Variation in downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficient in the northern South China Sea

The diffuse attenuation coefficient for downwelling irradiance （Kd（λ）） is an important parameter for ocean studies. Based on the optical profile data measured during three cruises in the northern South China Sea in autumn from 2003 to 2005, variations in the Kd（λ） spectra were analyzed. The variability of Kd（λ） shows much distinct features in both magnitude and spectra pattern, it is much higher in coastal waters than that of open oceanic waters; and the blue-to-green （443/555） ratio of Kd（λ） tends to increase with chlorophyll a concentration （[Chl-a]） from open ocean to coastal waters. These characteristics can be explained most by the increase of aw＋p（443）/aw＋p（555） with [Chl-a]. In short waveband, the relation between Kd（λ）-Kw（λ） and [Chl-a] can be well described by a power law function, indicating the large contribution of phytoplankton to the variations in Kd（λ）. As for the spectral model of the diffuse attenuation coefficient, there are good linear relationships between Kd（490） and Kd（λ） in other wavelengths with own slope and intercept of a linear functions in the spectral range 412-555 nm. Kd（490） is well correlated with the spectral ratio of remote sensing reflectance; and should enough measurement data are given, this empirical algorithm would be used in the Kd（λ） retrieval from ocean color satellite data. The variation in Kd（λ） provides much useful information for us to study the bio-optical property in the northern South China Sea.     

Trends of urban air pollution in Zhengzhou City in 1996–2008

Urban air pollution is a commonly concerned environmental problem in the world.Identification of air quality trend using long-term monitoring data is helpful to understand the effectiveness of pollution control strategies.This study,using data from six monitoring stations in Zhengzhou City,analyzed the changing trend in concentrations of SO 2,NO x /NO 2 and TSP/PM 10 in 1996-2008,based on non-parametric Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator,and evaluated the comprehensive air pollution level using Multi-Pollutant Index(MPI).It was found that the concentration of each pollutant exceeded obviously the World Health Organization(WHO) guideline value,but the changing trend varied:SO 2 and NO 2 were significantly increased mainly due to an increase in coal consumption and vehicle number,while NO x,TSP and PM 10 decreased.The air pollution was serious,and differed markedly among the three functional regions:it is the most severe in the Industrial and Residential Area(IRA),followed by the Transportation Hub and Business District(THBD),and then the High-tech,Cultural and Educational Area(HCEA).Different from NO 2 concentration that had a similar change trend/rate among the function regions,the change rate of PM 10 concentration differed spatially,decreased much more obviously in THBD than other two regions.For the whole city,the comprehensive air pollution level declined gradually,illustrating that the air quality in Zhengzhou was improved in the last decade.     

Isoenzymes and soluble protein in Arthrospirafrom alkaline lakes in Erdos Plateau, China and in exotic species

1 INTRODUCTION Since isoenzyme was first named by Markert and M?ller in 1957 (Hu and Wan, 1985), the separa- tion of isoenzyme has been rapidly developed. Isoenzymes is an important tool for studying life in molecule level. Isoenzymes are transcribed by g…     

Meso-scale spatial distribution of large tintinnids in early summer in southern Yellow Sea

The spatial distribution of some large tintinnid species （nominally〉76 μm） was investigated according to samples collected by vertical towing in cruises to the southern Yellow Sea in summer 2000-2002 and 2004. Eight species were identified： Codonellopsis mobilis, Leprotintinnus netritus, Tintinnopsis karajacensis, T. japonica, T. kiaochowensis, T. butschlii, T. radix, and Parafavella sp. With maximum abundance of 158.2 ind/L in June 2004, C. mobilis was the dominant species, lasting from May to July 2004. Tintinnid communities were patchy and distributed mainly in shallow waters along the shore.     

Histological study on the skin of Japanese flounder <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paralichthys olivaceus</Emphasis>

Histological development of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus larval skin and ultrastructural difference of skin between reared normal and malpigmented Japanese flounder were studied with light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the skin develops slowly before the metamorphosis, while at the onset of metamorphosis, the skin develops quickly and becomes complete in structure till about 50d after being hatched. Ultrastructural observation on the normal and malpigmented skins shows that the iridophore and melanophore are adjacent to each other. Profile and structure of the two kinds of pigmcnt cells are more complete in the skin of normal ocular side than in the skin of pigmented blind side. The ultrastructure of typical chloride cell was observed in the skin of Japanese flounder larvae for the first time.     

Location of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vibrio anguillarum</Emphasis> resistance-associated trait loci in half-smooth tongue sole <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cynoglossus semilaevis</Emphasis> at its microsatellite linkage map

A cultured female half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) was crossed with a wild male, yielding the first filial generation of pseudo-testcrossing from which 200 fish were randomly selected to locate the Vibrio anguillarum resistance trait in half-smooth tongue sole at its microsatellite linkage map. In total, 129 microsatellites were arrayed into 18 linkage groups, ≥4 each. The map reconstructed was 852.85 cM in length with an average spacing of 7.68 cM, covering 72.07% of that expected (1 183.35 cM). The V. anguillarum resistance trait was a composite rather than a unit trait, which was tentatively partitioned into Survival time in Hours After V. anguillarum Infection (SHAVI) and Immunity of V. Anguillarum Infection (IVAI). Above a logarithm of the odds (LOD) threshold of 2.5, 18 loci relative to SHAVI and 3 relative to IVAI were identified. The 3 loci relative to IVAI explained 18.78%, 5.87% and 6.50% of the total phenotypic variation in immunity. The microsatellites bounding the 3 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of IVAI may in future aid to the selection of V. anguillarum-immune half-smooth tongue sole varieties, and facilitate cloning the gene(s) controlling such immunity.     

The characteristics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">vasa</Emphasis> gene from Japanese sea bass (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lateolabrax japoni</Emphasis>cas) and its response to the external hormones

The RNA helicase Vasa is an important regulator of primordial germ cell development. Its function in mature fish, especially the hormone-related differences in maturing male fish has seldom been documented. In this study, a full length cDNA sequence of the vasa gene was cloned from Japanese sea bass, Lateolabrax japonicas, and it was named jsb-vasa. Homology analysis showed that jsb-vasa was closely related to its teleost homologs. The spatial distribution of jsb-vasa indicated that it was only highly expressed in testis, showing its germ cell-specific expression pattern. During the testicular development cycle, jsb-vasa was highly expressed during early period of spermatogenesis, and reduced when spermatogenesis advanced. In addition, the jsb-vasa gene expression was significantly inhibited at 6 h, 12 h and 24 h after injecting hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) and GnRHa (Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue), indicating that jsb-vasa gene may play an important role in spermatogenesis of Japanese sea bass, and be under the regulation of external sex hormones.     

Quantitative trait loci detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Edwardsiella tarda</Emphasis> resistance in Japanese flounder <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paralichthys olivaceus</Emphasis> using bulked segregant analysis

In recent years, Edwardsiella tarda has become one of the most deadly pathogens of Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), causing serious annual losses in commercial production. In contrast to the rapid advances in the aquaculture of P. olivaceus, the study of E. tarda resistance-related markers has lagged behind, hindering the development of a disease-resistant strain. Thus, a marker-trait association analysis was initiated, combining bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping. Based on 180 microsatellite loci across all chromosomes, 106 individuals from the F1333 (♀: F0768 ×♂: F0915) (Nomenclature rule: F+year+family number) were used to detect simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and QTLs associated with E. tarda resistance. After a genomic scan, three markers (Scaffold 404-21589, Scaffold 404-21594 and Scaffold 270-13812) from the same linkage group (LG)-1 exhibited a significant difference between DNA, pooled/bulked from the resistant and susceptible groups (P <0.001). Therefore, 106 individuals were genotyped using all the SSR markers in LG1 by single marker analysis. Two different analytical models were then employed to detect SSR markers with different levels of significance in LG1, where 17 and 18 SSR markers were identified, respectively. Each model found three resistance-related QTLs by composite interval mapping (CIM). These six QTLs, designated qE1–6, explained 16.0%–89.5% of the phenotypic variance. Two of the QTLs, qE-2 and qE-4, were located at the 66.7 cM region, which was considered a major candidate region for E. tarda resistance. This study will provide valuable data for further investigations of E. tarda resistance genes and facilitate the selective breeding of disease-resistant Japanese flounder in the future.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">GST</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">phi</Emphasis>) gene from Macrophyte <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lemna minor</Emphasis> is involved in cadmium exposure responses

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers, including ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase, are the most commonly used biomarkers in assessing an organisms’ response to many biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we cloned an 866 bp GST (phi) gene in Lemna minor and investigated its characteristics, expression and enzymatic activities under 75 μmol/L cadmium concentrations in comparison with other ROS scavengers. GST (phi) gene expression patterns were similar to those of other scavengers of ROS. This suggests that GST (phi) might be involved in responding to heavy metal (cadmium) stress and that its expression level could be used as a bio-indicator in monitoring cadmium pollution.     

Partial sequence analysis of mitochondrial COI gene of the chinese shrimp, <Emphasis Type="Italic">fenneropenaeus chinensis</Emphasis>

Eight hundred and thirty eight base pair fragment of mitochondrial COI gene of wild and cultured populations (CP1, CP4, CP5 and CP6) of Fenneropenaeus chinensis was amplified and sequenced. The A, T, G and C contents of the sequence were 235 bp (28.0%), 307 bp (36.6%), 138 bp (16.5%) and 158 bp (18.9%), respectively. Furthermore, 556 bp fragment of the sequence was used to discuss the phylogenetic relationship among 14 Penaeidae species using Alpheus armillatus as the outgroup. From the molecular phylogenetic tree constructed by neighbor-joining method, we obtained three large shrimp groups: Farfantepenaeus, Litopenaeus and Fenneropenaeus group. The results also indicated that there were a closer genetic relationships between F. aztecus and F. paulensis, L. schmitti and L. setiferus, F. indicus and F. merguiensis, and the genus Farfantepenaeus was closer to Litopenaeus.     

Construction of cDNA Library of Pyrocystis lunula（Pyrophyta）

1　Introduction　Photosyntheticdinoflagellatesareimportantprima ryproducersandcausesoftoxic‘redtide’ .Theyarefoundinmostaquaticenvironmentsandformamajorpartofthemodernplankton .Dinoflagellatesmaybeimportantindicatorsofenvironmentalstatus (Dale ,1996 ) .…     

Construction of a muscle cDNA library of Chinese shrimp <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fenneropenaeus chinensis</Emphasis> and sequence analysis of the troponin I gene

A muscle cDNA library of Chinese shrimp (Fenneropenaeus chinensis) was constructed with the SMART™ cDNA Library Construction Kit. The titer of optimal primary library was 7.7×10⁵ pfu mL⁻¹ and that of the amplified library was 3.0×10⁹ pfu mL⁻¹. The percentages of the recombinant clones of primary and amplified libraries were over 98%. The insert sizes were longer than 400 bp with an average of 1000 bp. A positive clone containing a 794 bp insert was sequenced and identified encoding fast skeletal troponin I gene. This library provided a useful resource for the functional genomic research of F. chinensis.     

Cloning and sequence analysis of a full-length cDNA of SmPPlcb encoding turbot protein phosphatase 1 beta catalytic subunit

Reversible protein phosphorylation, catalyzed by protein kinases and phosphatases, is an important and versatile mechanism by which eukaryotic cells regulate almost all the signaling processes. Protein phosphatase 1 （PP1） is the first and well-characterized member of the protein serine/threonine phosphatase family. In the present study, a full-length cDNA encoding the beta isoform of the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase l（PPlcb）, was for the first time isolated and sequenced from the skin tissue of flatfish turbot Scophthalmus maximus, designated SmPPlcb, by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends （RACE） technique. The cDNA sequence of SmPPlcb we obtained contains a 984 bp open reading frame （ORF）, flanked by a complete 39 bp 5＇ untranslated region and 462 bp 3＇ untranslated region. The ORF encodes a putative 327 amino acid protein, and the N-terminal section of this protein is highly acidic, Met-Ala-Glu-Gly-Glu-Leu-Asp-Val-Asp, a common feature for PP1 catalytic subunit but absent in protein phosphatase 2B （PP2B）. And its calculated molecular mass is 37 193 Da and pI 5.8. Sequence analysis indicated that, SmPPlcb is extremely conserved in both amino acid and nucleotide acid levels compared with the PPlcb of other vertebrates and invertebrates, and its Kozak motif contained in the 5＇UTR around ATG start codon is GXXAXXGXXATGG, which is different from mammalian in two positions A6 and G3, indicating the possibility of different initiation of translation in turbot, and also the 3＇UTR of SmPPlcb is highly diverse in the sequence similarity and length compared with other animals, especially zebraf＇lsh. The cloning and sequencing of SmPPlcb gene lays a good foundation for the future work on the biological functions of PP1 in the flatfish turbot.     

Cloning and Characterization of an Abalone （Haliotis discus hannai ） Actin Gene

1　Introduction　Actinisanimportantcontractileproteinineukary oticcells .Itisoneofthetwomajorcomponentsin volvedinthecontractionofmusclecells .Innon mus clecells ,itisthemajorpartofcytoskeletoninvolvedinmanyprocessessuchascellmotility ,endocytosis ,exocyt…