Study on the Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Sea Cucumber(Paracaudina chinens var.) Gelatin Hydrolysate

Gelatin from the sea cucumber(Paracaudina chinens var.) was hydrolyzed by bromelain and the hydrolysate was found to have a high free radical scavenging activity. The hydrolysate was fractionated through an ultrafiltration membrane with 5 kDa molecular weight cutoff(MWCO). The portion(less than 5 kDa) was further separated by Sephadex G-25. The active peak was col-lected and assayed for free radical scavenging activity. The scavenging rates for superoxide anion radicals(O2·-) and hydroxyl radi-cals(·OH) of the fraction with the highest activity were 29.02% and 75.41%,respectively. A rabbit liver mitochondrial free radical damage model was adopted to study the free radical scavenging activity of the fraction. The results showed that the sea cucumber gelatin hydrolysate can prevent the damage of rabbit liver and mitochondria.     

Expression of the Phycoerythrin Gene of Gracilaria lemaneiformis (Rhodophyta) in E. coli and Evaluation of the Bioactivity of Recombinant PE

Phycoerythrin (PE) is one of the most important proteins involved in light capturing during photosynthesis in red algae. Its potential biological activities had gained wide concerns. In the present study, tumor cytotoxic and hydroxyl radical assay were preformed to detect the bioactivity of recombinant PE. Recombinant plasmids pGEX-PE and pBGL were transformed into E.coli BL21 to make two recombinant strains BEX (pGEX-PE) and BGL (pBGL). PE expressing in BEX (pGEX-PE) was validated by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting analysis. SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that the PE-GST fusion protein was mostly inclusion bod- ies. Specific expression of PE was confirmed by Western blotting analysis. The recombinant E. coli BEX (pGEX-PE) cells were col- lected and sonicated. The supernatants were reserved for the tumor cytotoxic experiments. The result of tumor cytotoxic assay indi- cated that the supernatants containing PE had the activity of inhibiting the growth of Hela cells and with the increase of protein con- centration, the inhibiting rate increased from 37.31% to 63.26%, which showed significant difference from the control. Hydroxyl radical scavenging effect was tested with supernatants of BEX (pGEX-PE) and BGL (pBGL) cell lysates treated with sonication and heating. For the sonication samples, the scavenging rates of the supernatants of BEX (pGEX-PE) and BGL (pBGL) cell lysates were significantly higher than the negative control BL21(pGEX-4T) (P<0.02), and the scavenging rates increased slowly following the increase of the protein content. For the heating samples, except for the 0.2 mg mL-1 BGL (pBGL) products, the scavenging effects of the supernatants of BEX (pGEX-PE) and BGL (pBGL) cell lysates were stronger than that of negative control BL21(pGEX-4T). However, the effect intensity was not positively correlated with the increase of the protein concentration. Though a partially de- creased hydroxyl radical scavenging activity was led by heating, the biological activity was still retained and conspicuous. This re- search showed that phycoerythrin protein expressing in E. coli has the potential medical and sanitarian value.     

Assessment of man-made and natural hazards in the surroundings of hydropower projects under construction in the beas valley of northwestern Himalaya

Mountain ecosystem,on the earth,has plenty of natural resources. In Himachal Pradesh all the rivers are snowfed and therefore rich in water resources. These resources have been supporting enough for the generation of electricity through introducing hydropower projects since the last decade. However,every developmental activity has its own negative impacts on the surrounding environment. Due to the fragile nature of topography and delicacy of ecology of the Himalaya,it results in lot of disturbances because of high degree of human interferences like construction of major hydropower projects. The increased extent of geological hazards,such as landslides,rock fall and soil erosion,have mainly due to alike developmental interventions in the natural ecosystem. So understanding and analysing such impacts of the hydropower projects have mainly been on the environment in various forms but natural hazards have been frequent ones. The present study,therefore,focuses mainly on the Parbati Stage Ⅱ (800 MW) and the Parbati Stage Ⅲ (520 MW) hydropower projects; both of which fall within the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Based on the perception survey of the local communities,the existing land use pattern,status of total acquired land of the residents by hydropower projects,frequent natural hazards and resultant loss to the local communities due to upcoming construction of hydropower projects surrounding to the Parbati Stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ have been analysed in the paper. Also,the preventive measures to mitigate these adverse impacts have been suggested to strengthen these projects in eco-friendly manner in the mountain context.     

Distribution, use pattern and prospects for conservation of medicinal shrubs in Uttaranchal State, India

The present paper gives an insight into the distribution and use pattern of medicinal shrubs in Uttaranchal State. A total of 222 medicinal and aromatic shrub species have been appended based on secondary information. Euphorbiaceae, Rosaceae, Verbenaceae, and Fabaceae have the highest repre- sentatives of medicinal shrubs. Twenty one families had one species each in medicinal use. Verbenaceae and Euphorbiaceae in the sub-tropical region, Rosaceae in the temperate region, and Ericaceae and Rosaceae in the sub-alpine and alpine regions, respectively, had the highest representatives of medicinal shrubs. The distribution of medicinal shrubs was 42 % in sub-tropical, 29 % in warm temperate, 13 % in cool temperate, 9 % in sub-alpine and 7 % in the alpine region. Of the total species, 70 medicinal shrubs were native to the Himalayas and 22 native to Himalayan region including other Hima- layan countries. The most frequently used plant parts for various ailments were leaves (31 %) and roots (23 %). Most shrubs are being used for the diseases, viz. skin diseases, dysentery, cough, fever, wounds, and rheumatism. The present paper will help in the execution of strategies for promotion and cultivation of medicinal shrubs in Uttaranchal State.     

Reforestation Programs in Southwest China： Reported Success, Observed Failure, and the Reasons Why

Ever since the disastrous floods of 1998, the Chinese government has used the Natural Forest Protection and Sloping Land Conversion Programs to promote afforestation and reforestation as means to reduce runoff, control erosion, and stabilize local livelihoods. These two ambitious programs have been reported as large-scale successes, contributing to an overall increase in China’s forest cover and to the stated goals of environmental stabilization. A small-scale field study at the project level of the implementation of these two programs in Baiwu Township, Yanyuan County, Sichuan, casts doubt upon the accuracy and reliability of these claims of success; ground observations revealed utter failure in some sites and only marginal success in others. Reasons for this discrepancy are posited as involving ecological, economic, and bureaucratic factors. Further research is suggested to determine whether these discrepancies are merely local aberrations or represent larger-scale failures in reforestation programs.     

哈萨克斯坦共和国地震学数据库简介

建立哈萨克斯坦共和国地震学数据库是CASIN国际项目的一部分,应由中亚各国来共同完成。项目主要目的旨在建立地震学数据库,以作为今后减小哈萨克斯坦共和国地震危险性的工作基础。哈萨克斯坦共和国地震学数据库由下列子系统构成:1)文件输入子系统;2)信息检索和提交子系统;3)信息元数据存储子系统;4)档案库运行控制子系统;5)信息安全子系统。哈萨克斯坦共和国地震学数据库有以下功能:1)永久存储综合信息并上报和收集(记录)其他资料;2)存储数据和资料计算;3)电子文档的长期存储和管理;4)规定序号进行信息查询和文件的联机保证;5)信息统计和…     

硅饱和熔体-橄榄岩反应与残留橄榄石的成分解耦

以下几个基本事实使橄榄石的相容元素地球化学研究在探讨地幔组成与地幔过程方面具有重要意义:(1)大于50%的上地幔是由橄榄石组成的,因此幔源岩浆一般被认为生成于与橄榄石平衡的环境;(2)橄榄石是玄武岩中的常见矿物,是玄武质岩浆中最早结晶的矿物,因此最有可能记录原始岩浆的相容元素地球化学特征;(3)橄榄石几乎不含不相容元素,但相容元素(Ni、Mn、Co、Ca、Al、Cr)含量较高,一般在100×10-6～5000×10-6之间,分析条件容易满足;(4)原始岩浆的不相容元素含量容易受到部分熔融程度的影响,而相容元素的含量主要受源区岩性(橄榄石、辉石的含量)的控制.     

海水的氯同位素组成特征

本研究采用基于Cs2 Cl+离子的正热电离质谱法测定了海水中的氯同位素组成。结果表明海水的3 7　Cl 3 5Cl值基本上是均一的 ,平均值为 0 .3190 93,变化范围为 0 .318782～ 0 .3192 2 1。相对于某一标准海水的表面海水的δ3 7Cl值与包括海水温度、盐度、经纬度在内的所有因素基本无关。但不同深度的海水的δ3 7Cl值随深度而降低 ;δ3 7Cl值也显然与大陆注入水和区域有关。     

Discovery of Pyrrhotite-Chalcopyrite-Bearing Amphibole Megacrysts in Tongling Area, Anhui Province

Some pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-bearing amphibole megacrysts (including pyroxene megacrysts) were discovered in Mesozoic augite diorite-porphyrite at Caoshan in Tongling area, Anhui Province. The amphibole megacrysts, belonging mainly to pargasite and magnesiohastingsite, are characteristic of the amphibole composition derived from mantle and crystallized in lower crust. In general, the aggregates of pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite take the shapes of cylinder and sphere. Three occurrences have been recognized in the amphibole megacrysts: parallel linear, bunchy and scattered. The unique cylinder-like shape of the aggregates and remarkable Ni-poor sulfides in Caoshan are distinctively different from the spherical Ni-rich sulfides in pyroxene megacrysts and any other kinds of megacrysts. In terms of composition, the amphibole megacrysts and their sulfides in Caoshan are similar to those in the pyroxenite xenoliths in Qilin, Guangdong Province. In terms of origin, the pyrrhotite-chalcopyrites as exsolution products resulted from the subsolidus re-equilibration of sulfide solid solution within amphibole megacrysts.amphibole megacrysts were first discovered inside and outside China. This discovery is important for the study of regional magma evolution and its associated mineralizations and ore sources as well.