Protective effects of C-phycocyanin on alcohol-induced acute liver injury in mice

Excessive alcohol consumption leads to liver disease. Extensive evidence suggests that C-phycocyanin (C-PC), a chromophore phycocyanobilin derived from Spirulina platensis, exerts protective effects against chemical-induced organ damage. In this study, we investigated whether C-PC could protect against ethanol-induced acute liver injury. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (CHOL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), liver homogenate malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) content were measured, and pathological examination of liver sections were examined. C-PC showed obvious inhibitory effects on serum ALT, AST, TG, CHOL, LDL and MDA, and SOD content significantly increased in the liver. The structure of hepatic lobules was clear, liver sinus returned to normal, and liver cell cords were arranged in neat rows. Cloudiness, swelling, inflammatory cell infiltration and spotty necrosis of liver cells were significantly reduced. Therefore, C-PC can significantly protect against ethanol-induced acute liver injury.     

深海细菌Pseudomonas sp. IOFA1中甲醛歧化酶FM11的纯化及性质研究

从印度洋深海沉积物中分离出一株能够高效降解甲醛的假单胞菌(Pseudomonas sp.IOFA1),该菌株可在40 min内完全降解100 mg/cm~3的甲醛.通过阴离子交换柱层析对菌株破碎液中的粗酶液进行纯化,得到一条具有甲醛降解活性的单一蛋白条带.经MALDI-TOF/TOF质谱鉴定,该蛋白为甲醛歧化酶蛋白(FM11).序列分析表明FM11与其它物种已知醛脱氢酶的氨基酸序列最高相似性为65%;结构域分析表明FM11含有2个保守的锌结合位点和一个NAD结合位点.酶学性质分析结果显示,FM11的最适反应温度为40℃,在25~50℃范围内能够保留95%以上的酶活力,尤其是在高于70℃的高温环境下仍保有约50%的活力,表现出广泛的温度适应性.FM11具有非常广泛的最适反应pH值范围(pH值为5~9),且在pH值4和pH值10时仍分别保留50%和80%左右的酶活力,表现出广泛的pH适应性.在pH值为5~7的条件下孵育1 h后,FM11仍保有97%以上的酶活,且在pH值为7~10条件下孵育1 h后,仍保留90%以上的酶活,表现出极好的酸性和碱性稳定性.Ca~(2+)、Mg~(2+)在低浓度时(0.5 mmol/dm~3)对FM11有较明显的激活作用.这些研究为我们进一步开发Pseudomonas sp.IOFA1甲醛歧化酶在降解甲醛方面的用途奠定了基础.     

Variation of Thornthwaite moisture index in Hengduan Mountains,China

The Thornthwaite moisture index, an index of the supply of water(precipitation) in an area relative to the climatic demand for water(potential evapotranspiration), was used to examine the spatial and temporal variation of drought and to verify the influence of environmental factors on the drought in the Hengduan Mountains, China. Results indicate that the Thornthwaite moisture index in the Hengduan Mountains had been increasing since 1960 with a rate of 0.1938/yr. Annual Thornthwaite moisture index in Hengduan Mountains was between –97.47 and 67.43 and the spatial heterogeneity was obvious in different seasons. Thornthwaite moisture index was high in the north and low in the south, and the monsoon rainfall had a significant impact on its spatial distribution. The tendency rate of Thornthwaite moisture index variation varied in different seasons, and the increasing trends in spring were greater than that in summer and autumn. However, the Thornthwaite moisture index decreased in winter. Thornthwaite moisture index increased greatly in the north and there was a small growth in the south of Hengduan Mountains. The increase of precipitation and decrease of evaporation lead to the increase of Thornthwaite moisture index. Thornthwaite moisture index has strong correlation with vegetation coverage. It can be seen that the correlation between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) and Thornthwaite moisture index was positive in spring and summer, but negative in autumn and winter. Correlation between Thornthwaite moisture index and relative soil relative moisture content was positive in spring, summer and autumn, but negative in winter. The typical mountainous terrain affect the distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind speed and other meteorological factors in this region, and then affect the spatial distribution of Thornthwaite moisture index. The unique ridge-gorge terrain caused the continuity of water-heat distribution from the north to south, and the water-heat was stronger than that from the east to west part, and thus determined the spatial distribution of Thornthwaite moisture index. The drought in the Hengduan Mountains area is mainly due to the unstable South Asian monsoon rainfall time.     

Impact factors identification of spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous plant diversity on five southern islands of Miaodao Archipelago in North China

Herbaceous plants are widely distributed on islands and where they exhibit spatial heterogeneity. Accurately identifying the impact factors that drive spatial heterogeneity can reveal typical island biodiversity patterns. Five southern islands in the Miaodao Archipelago, North China were studied herein. The spatial distribution of herbaceous plant diversity on these islands was analyzed, and the impact factors and their degree of impact on spatial heterogeneity were identified using CCA ordination and ANOVA. The results reveal 114 herbaceous plant species, belonging to 94 genera from 34 families in the 50 plots sampled. The total species numbers on different islands were significantly positively correlated with island area, and the average α diversity was correlated with human activities, while the β diversity among islands was more affected by island area than mutual distances. Spatial heterogeneity within islands indicated that the diversities were generally high in areas with higher altitude, slope, total nitrogen, total carbon, and canopy density, and lower moisture content, pH, total phosphorus, total potassium, and aspect. Among the environmental factors, pH, canopy density, total K, total P, moisture content, altitude, and slope had significant gross effects, but only canopy density exhibited a significant net effect. Terrain affected diversity by restricting plantation, plantation in turn influenced soil properties and the two together affected diversity. Therefore, plantation was ultimately the fundamental driving factor for spatial heterogeneity in herbaceous plant diversity on the five islands.     

The morphological characteristics of gully systems and watersheds in Dry-Hot Valley,SW China

Gully systems and watersheds are geomorphic units with clear boundaries that are relatively independent of basin landscapes and play an important role in natural geography. In order to explore the morphological characteristics of gully systems and watersheds in the Dry-Hot Valley [South West (SW) China], gullies are interpreted from online Google images with high resolution and watersheds are extracted from digital elevation model at a scale of 1:50,000. The results show that: (1) There are 17,382 gullies (with a total area of 1141.66 km²) and 42 watersheds in the study area. (2) The average gully density of the study area (D) is 4.29 km/km², gully frequency (F) is 14.39 gullies/km², the branching ratio (B) is 5.13, the length ratio (L) is 3.12, and the coefficient of the main and tributary gullies (M) is 0.06. The degree of gully erosion is strong to extremely strong, the main development intensity of gully erosion ranges from intense to moderate, and the type of gully system is tributary. (3) The watershed areas (A) are between 0.39 and 96.43 km², the relief ratio (R) is from 0.10 to 0.19, the circularity ratio (C) is from 0.30 to 0.83, the texture ratio (T) is from 0.82 to 39.35, and the dominant geomorphological texture type is fine. (4) There is a quantitative relationship between F and D:F?=?0.624D² (R?=0.84) and T is closely related to D, F, M (R²?>?0.7). A, R and C are related to M (R²?>?0.5). The development of gully systems is the result of coupling effects between multiple factors. In this area, the degree of erosion and the condition of the main and tributary gullies can be controlled by the degree of topographic breakage in the watershed, which provides some theoretical basis for the evaluation of gully erosion by the latter. In addition, the scale, relief, and shape have a significant impact on the locations of the main and tributary gullies. For tributary gullies, attention should be paid to the interception and control of runoff and sediment in the small confluence branches in order to prevent gully expansion and head advance. These features can inform the development of targeted measures for the control of soil erosion.     

Petrogenesis and Tectonic Significance of the Three‐Period Porphyries from the Daruoluolong Cu (Au) Deposit,Tibet, China

正Objective The Daruoluolong deposit is the first high-grade Cu(Au)deposit discovered in the middle section of the Bangonghu-Nujiang(herein after referred to as Ban-Nu)metallogenic belt,which has not been documented about previously.This deposit is located in Shuanghu County of northern Tibet,and its geotectonic position belongs to the     

Provenance Study of Fe–Ti Oxide Minerals in the Quaternary Sediments in Yichang Area and Its Implication of Formation Time of the Yangtze Three Gorges, China

The Three Gorges are considered to be critical to understand the formation of Yangtze River. Recent research results suggest that the Yangtze Three Gorges was created during the Quaternary but the exact time is debatable. Fe–Ti oxide minerals are seldom used to study sediment provenance, expecially using scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS). In this study, the provenance of Quaternary sediments in Yichang area, which is located to the east of the Yangtze Three Gorges, was investigated by using SEM and EDS to research Fe–Ti oxides. The Panzhihua vanadium titanomagnetite and Emeishan basalt outcrop are located to the west of the Three Gorges. Further, the materials from them are observed in the Quaternary sediments of Yichang area. Fe–Ti oxide minerals from the Huangling granite are observed in the Yunchi and Shanxiyao Formations, which were formed before 0.75 Ma B.P., whereas Fe–Ti oxide minerals from the Huangling granite, Panzhihua vanadium titanomagnetite, and Emeishan basalt are observed in the riverbed and fifth-terrace sediments of the Yangtze River, which were formed after 0.73 Ma B.P.. Thus, we can infer that the Three Gorges formed after the deposition of the Shanxi Formation and before the fifth-terrace; i.e., 0.75–0.73 Ma B.P..     

帕米尔高原东北缘活动构造对塔什库尔干盆地地热控制作用

帕米尔东北缘位于青藏高原西北部,是新构造运动最强烈的地区之一。受控于公格尔拉张断裂作用的塔什库尔干盆地,活动构造强烈,高的大地热流值和丰富的地下水,使其具备地热资源形成的地质构造和水文条件。基于塔什库尔干盆地北部的曲曼地区地质构造、湖相地层年代学调查研究,该地区发育晚更新世的NNE向f_1和f_2正断层以及第四纪沉积物之下存在隐伏的近EW向的断层f_3。这3条断层是塔什库尔干断裂在不同构造演化时期形成的次级断层。结合EH-4电磁成像和钻孔及抽水试验等资料表明NNE向f_1和f_2正断层是地热系统的导水通道,而近EW向f_3断层为导热通道。该地区地热模式是大地热流为热源-地下水深循环逐渐加热-构造控水和控热。