The expression of CYP1A,vitellogenin and zona radiata proteins in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) after oral dosing with two commercial PBDE flame retardant mixtures: absence of short-term responses

The short-term effects of the commercial PBDE flame retardant mixtures Penta-BDE and cta-BDE on the expression of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A), vitellogenin (Vtg) and zona radiata proteins (Zrp) were investigated in juvenile salmon (Salmo salar). For this purpose, groups of fish were dosed twice (oral intake at days I and 4) with 10 and 50 mg/kg body weight of both commercial mixtures. The fishes were sacrificed at day 7 (n = 5 for each group) and 14 (n = 6 for each group), and blood, liver, fillet, and brain were collected. Blanks and positive controls were also part of the experiment. The expressions of Vtg, Zrp, and CYPIA were measured with several techniques (EROD, ELISA, Western, Northern and Slot Blot). The values in the groups of fish treated with Penta-BDE or Octa-BDE did not significantly differ from the reference group for any of the parameters tested. In contrast, the positive control groups treated with estradiol-17beta for Vtg and Zrp expression, and beta-naphthoflavone for CYP1A expression did show a significant response, indicating the potential sensitivity of the fishes for the parameters measured. Since the results of the chemical analyses showed concentrations of a number of PBDE congeners in liver, fillet, and brain that were about three orders of magnitude above those of fish from the North Sea, it is concluded that the short-term toxicity of both commercial PBDE mixtures for these endpoints was low.     

Cytochrome P450 differences in normal and imposex-affected female whelk Buccinum undatum from the open North Sea

Normal and imposex-affected female Buccinum undatum were sampled from the open North Sea at three locations, one with low, and two with high shipping densities. Cytochrome P450 components and P450 aromatase activity were determined in the microsomal fractions isolated from pooled digestive gland/gonads. Cytochrome P450 aromatase activity was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in normal females collected in the low shipping density area (1,325 +/- 295 fmol/h/mg protein) than levels from imposex animals from a high shipping density area (620 +/- 287 fmol/h/mg protein). A negative correlation was found between aromatase activity and organotin body burden (r = -0.99). Levels of CYP450, cytochrome b5 and NADPH cytochrome c reductase activity did not show differences among groups. This is the first field evidence of depressed aromatase activity in imposex affected females, although additional research under laboratory controlled conditions is required to fully understand the mechanisms underlying the development of imposex in this species.     

Residues of 14C-4n-nonylphenol in mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) oocytes and embryos during dietary exposure of mature females to this xenohormone

In order to assess in fish the maternal transfer of alkylphenolic compounds to the progeny, the identification and quantification of the labelled compounds present in oocytes and embryos was conducted after dietary exposure of mature female mosquitofish to 14C-4n-nonylphenol during vitellogenesis and embryogenesis respectively. Radioactivity found in bile and liver extracts accounted for 0.9-0.6 and 0.2-0.1% of ingested radioactivity for females exposed during vitellogenesis and embryogenesis respectively. The amount of extractable radioactivity present in oocytes and embryos was 0.19 and 0.07% of the ingested dose respectively. The radio-HPLC profiles obtained from bile, liver, oocyte and embryo extracts were similar. They showed the presence of 4n-NP-glucuronide as the major metabolite and traces of unchanged 4n-NP. The other metabolites corresponded to 8-hydroxynonylphenol, 9-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-nonanoic acid and para-hydroxybenzoic acid which is the final product of the alkyl chain oxidation. Our results indicate that exposure of ovoviviparous female fish to 4-NP during vitellogenesis and embryogenesis leads to the contamination of the progeny by 4-NP and its metabolites.     

Some observations on migration within and from the former USSR in the 1990s

"Patterns of population distribution revealed from 1989 census data are used to assess how future population movements could be affected by current political, social, and economic changes. Much migration in the USSR has reflected central planning decisions as much as the spontaneous decisions of individuals. To the extent that the influence of the command economy diminishes and a market economy emerges, major new directions of migration flows can be expected. The return of ethnic 'expatriates' to home republics can be expected to increase, as can economic migration to areas with favorably perceived economic prospects, and migration to Central and Western Europe."     

Integrated chronostratigraphy of Proterozoic-Cambrian boundary beds in the western Anabar region, northern Siberia

Carbonate-rich sedimentary rocks of the western Anabar region, northern Siberia, preserve an exceptional record of evolutionary and biogeochemical events near the Proterozoic/Cambrian boundary. Sedimentologically, the boundary succession can be divided into three sequences representing successive episodes of late transgressive to early highstand deposition; four parasequences are recognized in the sequence corresponding lithostratigraphically to the Manykal Formation. Small shelly fossils are abundant and include many taxa that also occur in standard sections of southeastern Siberia. Despite this coincidence of faunal elements, biostratigraphic correlations between the two regions have been controversial because numerous species that first appear at or immediately above the basal Tommotian boundary in southeastern sections have first appearances scattered through more than thirty metres of section in the western Anabar. Carbon- and Sr-isotopic data on petrographically and geochemically screened samples collected at one- to two-metre intervals in a section along the Kotuikan River, favour correlation of the Staraya Reckha Formation and most of the overlying Manykai Formation with sub-Tommotian carbonates in southeastern Siberia. In contrast, isotopic data suggest that the uppermost Manykai Formation and the basal 26 m of the unconformably overlying Medvezhya Formation may have no equivalent in the southeast; they appear to provide a sedimentary and palaeontological record of an evolutionarily significant time interval represented in southeastern Siberia only by the sub-Tommotian unconformity. Correlations with radiometrically dated horizons in the Olenek and Kharaulakh regions of northern Siberia suggest that this interval lasted approximately three to six million years, during which essentially all 'basal Tommotian' small shelly fossils evolved.     

荒漠植被红砂（Reaumurta soongorica）水热响应的年轮学研究

 红砂是黄土高原荒漠植被带主要建群植物种之一，在植被恢复重建和生态建设中具有重要意义。本文以皋兰县40 a天然植被封育区为例，运用树木年轮学方法，对不同坡向红砂与当地水热条件变化的时空响应及分布格局进行了研究。研究结果表明，红砂具有明显的年轮特征，可以进行树木年轮方面的研究。虽然不同坡向水分条件和植被状况有很大差异，但红砂径向生长对区域水热变化具有非常一致的响应模式：同生长季降水呈正相关关系，尤以7月降水量最为显著；同生长季气温呈负相关关系，以6月最为显著。根据不同坡向红砂年龄分布格局分析结果，并考虑到水土流失的防治效果，黄土高原西部荒漠植被带的封育期限不宜少于10 a。     

能量原理在确定岩石节理抗剪强度方面的应用

为了确定剪胀节理的剪切强度，人们已开始运用能量原理研究岩体结构面（Ｌａｄａｎｙｉ和Ａｒｃｈａｍｂａｕｌｔ，１９７０）。本项工作基于分析规则的粗糙起伏面，并且假定其是不可变形的。自然条件下的复杂岩体结构面中，很难辩认出要测量的有代表性的起伏角。Ｌａｄａｎｙｉ和Ａｒｃｈａｍｂａｕｌｔ通过假定等价结构面的张开度和结构面的有效起伏将其成果推广到天然节理。显然，这种等量假设不是普遍适用的，而且可能导致结构面     

节理粗糙度研究的新进展

当前采用的节理模型，如果不凭借经验，是不可能准确预测节理的剪切行为的，这已成为争论的热点。这是因为这些模型不能定量地评价节理粗糙度或尺度的重要性。介绍一种新的方法，它用分形几何来调查节理的粗糙度。这种方法已超出了简单地描述粗糙度的“症状”，而是去寻找“原因”。     

基于激光点云的巨型倾倒大变形体监测研究

以某特高岸水库巨型变形体为研究对象,应用地面三维激光扫描仪采集变形体表面激光点云数据,建立变形体DEM模型,几何量测提取点、线、面(体)成果,对比及叠加分析,得到特定点、线、面及整个变形体位移量信息。研究结果表明,高密度激光点云数据可弥补传统监测成果单一及分析局限或以点概全的不足,以其丰富多样的监测成果全面反映变形体的变形信息,尤其对速滑变形在时效性和精度匹配上更有效,可达到应急预报要求。     

黄土高原古气候变化定量重建的新进展

中国黄土- 红黏土沉积是可与深海沉积媲美的陆相沉积载体,记录了晚新生代东亚大陆气候环境变化历史。基于中国黄土的多种理化指标,重建了黄土高原地区构造- 千年尺度东亚季风变化历史,为探讨区域与全球气候的联系提供了关键证据。近年来,黄土高原古气候变化研究逐步从定性描述拓展到定量重建,本文旨在回顾基于中国黄土定量重建古温度和古降雨变化取得的重要进展。首先,梳理了古气候要素定量重建的指标和方法,古温度重建指标包括植硅体、碳酸盐耦合同位素、微生物脂类代用指标等;古降水变化敏感指标包括磁化率、白云石/方解石含量、生物微钙体Sr/Ca比值、有机碳同位素以及10Be等。然后,汇总了典型黄土剖面定量重建的古气候变化序列,分别从构造、轨道及千年时间尺度上探讨了古温度和古降雨的变化特征。结果表明,基于生标重建的不同时间跨度的土壤古温度变化序列,在冰期—间冰期尺度上的波动特征基本一致,但在冰盛期—冰消期时段出现了增温超前现象,说明陆地植被对土壤温度变化有重要调制作用。然而,不同指标重建的降水变化幅度差异较大,主导周期也存在差异,说明定量重建降水变化仍有较大挑战。最后,简要总结了黄土高原古气候定量重建存在的问题,明确了区分温度和降水季节性变化的重要性,指出加强地质记录与模拟结果的对比同化,将有助深化对多尺度季风变化动力学的理解。