Simulation of over-exploitation of ornamental fish and its consequences for the functional structure of assemblages of Amazonian streams

The consequences of over-exploitation may seriously impair the integrity and functioning of ecosystems. When loss of species is accompanied by the loss of ecological processes, the effects are no longer just taxonomic and may affect the stability of the environments. Ornamental fishing is one of the main economic activities of the middle Negro River. Such activity is directed to a small number of species and has the Cardinal Tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi) as the main target species. Given the potential effects this pressure and the lack of information on its consequences, the present study analysed, through simulations, the possible effects of depletion of ornamental fish populations on the functional structure of fish assemblages, represented by functional diversity (FD) and functional redundancy (FR) indexes. We sampled 13 streams exploited by the ornamental fishery, where we collected 4,286 specimens of 110 species, of which 22 were targeted as ornamental fishing. We found that the ornamental species corresponded, on average, to 27.8% of the species and 33.3% of the FD of the assemblages. In a scenario of complete exclusion of ornamental species, local communities would lose 24.6% of the FD and reduce up to 12% of the FR. With these results, it is possible to infer that the local extinction of exploited species would cause negative impacts on the multifunctionality and the resilience of the streams ecosystems. In this way, we emphasise the need for proper management of the ornamental fisheries aiming to the sustainability of the activity and to the conservation of ecosystem functionality.     

High night-time temperature during flowering and pod filling affects flower opening,yield and seed fatty acid composition in canola

Winter canola (Brassica napus L.) is highly sensitive to increasing temperatures during the reproductive and pod-filling stages. Although the impact of high day-time temperature stress on yield and quality has been documented in canola, similar information under high night-time temperature (HNT) stress is not available. Using six hybrids and four open-pollinated cultivars, we observed a marked shift in peak flowering towards earlier, cooler hours of the morning under HNT. Averaged across two independent experiments, the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II was significantly decreased (3%), with a significant increase in thylakoid membrane damage (13%) in the leaves of susceptible cultivars under HNT stress. Similarly, the susceptible cultivars also recorded significant reduction in biomass (34%), pod number (22%), pod weight (37%) and total seed weight (40%) per plant while the same set of agronomic traits were not affected among the tolerant cultivars. Quantitative impact of heat stress was confirmed with increased sensitivity to HNT exposure from gametogenesis until maturity resulting in a significantly higher yield loss compared to stress exposure from post-flowering till maturity. HNT significantly decreased oil concentration, but increased protein concentration and saturated fatty acid levels in seeds of the susceptible cultivars. However, HNT had no impact on the unsaturated fatty acids in both hybrids and the open-pollinated cultivars. Breeding targets based on fatty acid composition for enhancing canola seed quality may not be easily amenable due to the inconsistency documented with the compositional changes under heat stress. In summary, our findings conclude that canola hybrids are better suited to regions experiencing heat stress, compared to open-pollinated cultivars, indicating the possibility of a complete shift to hybrid canola cultivation under predicted hotter climates in the future.     

云南不同烟区片烟醇化过程色度及主要化学成分变化特征研究

研究云南不同烟区片烟醇化过程中外观颜色以及内在化学物质变化差异,为云南烟区醇化片烟的使用提供理论依据。取云南3个产区片烟进行醇化,对比分析其在醇化过程中的颜色以及内在化学物质变化差异。不同产区片烟在醇化过程中色差值L、b与总糖、总氮、烟碱呈现逐渐下降趋势,云南文山片烟色差值L、色差值b、总糖、总氮下降幅度大于云南保山与云南大理;还原糖与质体色素降解产物先上升后下降,云南大理峰值出现时间晚于云南保山与云南文山;色度值R、苯丙氨酸降解产物、西柏烷类降解产物、棕色化产物逐渐上升,不同产区变化幅度表现为云南文山>云南保山>云南大理。云南文山片烟在醇化过程中,片烟的外观颜色与内在化学物质变化幅度更大,达到最佳醇化期所需时间少于云南大理与云南保山。     

The effectiveness of consistent roguing in managing banana bunchy top disease in smallholder production in Africa

The removal of infected individuals is a common practice in the management of plant disease outbreaks. It minimizes the contact between healthy individuals and inoculum sources by reducing the infectious window of contaminated individuals. This requires early detection and consistent removal at landscape scale. Roguing of mats with symptoms of banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) in Cavendish banana production systems has been tested in Australia, using trained personnel, but has never been tested in smallholder systems. We studied the effectiveness of long-term consistent roguing in prolonging the productivity of banana orchards under smallholder farming systems in highland banana and plantain dominated production systems in Africa. We assessed the possibility of low-risk seed sourcing from the managed plots. Roguing reduced BBTD incidence to 2% in managed farmer fields and to 10% in experimental field plots, while a nonmanaged field eventually collapsed in the same period. With roguing, new infections decreased monthly compared to an exponential increase in a nonmanaged field. The emergence of new infections in both managed and nonmanaged farms followed a seasonal cycle. BBTD managed plots were a source of low-risk seed for replacing the rogued mats in the same fields, but perhaps not safe for use in nonendemic areas. We conclude that it is possible for smallholder farmers to recover and maintain banana productivity with rigorous roguing, which would entail early identification of symptoms and early removal of diseased mats. Studies are needed on the intensity of roguing under different disease and production conditions.     

海南省蔬菜根结线虫发生种类与分布

2014年-2018年, 对海南省蔬菜根结线虫病害进行了田间随机采样调查和病原种类分子鉴定?结果显示, 蔬菜根结线虫病在海南18市县均有发生, 且大部分旱田连作地块病株率达到80%以上?进一步对采集的295份根结线虫样本种类进行了分子鉴定, 共鉴定出象耳豆根结线虫?南方根结线虫和爪哇根结线虫3种病原种?其中, 象耳豆根结线虫单一检出率达到62.37%, 南方根结线虫单一检出率为23.39%, 爪哇根结线虫的检出率仅为5.76%, 象耳豆根结线虫和南方根结线虫复合侵染检出率为8.47%?除五指山市样本以外, 海南其余17市县样本均检测到象耳豆根结线虫侵染为害?本研究显示象耳豆根结线虫为海南省蔬菜上的优势病原根结线虫种类, 该结果对指导品种布局?制定根结线虫病害的防治策略具有重要意义?     

Neuroprotective Metabolites from Vietnamese Marine Derived Fungi of Aspergillus and Penicillium Genera

Low molecular weight secondary metabolites of marine fungi Aspergillus flocculosus, Aspergillus terreus and Penicillium sp. from Van Phong and Nha Trang Bays (Vietnam) were studied and a number of polyketides, bis-indole quinones and terpenoids were isolated. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS techniques. Stereochemistry of some compounds was established based on ECD data. A chemical structure of asterriquinone F (6) was thoroughly described for the first time. Anthraquinone (13) was firstly obtained from a natural source. Neuroprotective influences of the isolated compounds against 6-OHDA, paraquat and rotenone toxicity were investigated. 4-Hydroxyscytalone (1), 4-hydroxy-6-dehydroxyscytalone (2) and demethylcitreoviranol (3) have shown significant increasing of paraquat- and rotenone-treated Neuro-2a cell viability and anti-ROS activity.     

天山云杉林冠层结构对草本物种多样性的影响

为研究天山云杉林冠层特征与林下草本物种多样性的相互关系，以新疆天格尔森林公园天山云杉林的4个龄级的林分（幼林龄、中林龄、近熟林、成熟林）为研究对象，以冠层分析仪获得的冠层结构特征和林下光环境指数等野外实际调查数据为依据，通过计算 α 多样性指数分析4个龄级的草本物种多样性，利用多元统计方法研究冠层结构对草本多样性的影响。结果表明，各个指标在不同龄级间均有一定的差异，且随着林分的生长和更新，天山云杉林呈现林冠开度逐渐减小、叶面积指数增大、林下光辐射均减弱、物种多样性指数均减小的趋势；典型模型表明林冠开度对冠层结构起到主要作用（呈极显著正相关P<0.01），叶面积指数次之（呈极显著负相关P<0.01）；在林下辐射中，林下总辐射对林内光环境起主要作用；相比冠层结构，林下光照对草本层物种多样性的作用更大，其中林冠开度和丰富度指数之间呈显著正相关，林下总辐射、林下直射辐射和多样性指数、均匀度指数之间均呈显著正相关。     

一种国外野生沉香的生物活性和化学成分研究

研究一种国外野生沉香乙醚提取物的生物活性并分析其化学成分，为国外野生沉香的进一步研究和开发利用 提供一定的基础。采用乙醚浸提法提取沉香，对提取物分别用 MTT 法、Ellman 法、pNPG 法和贝曼漏斗法进行细胞毒、 乙酰胆碱酯酶抑制、α-葡萄糖苷酶抑制和杀全齿复活线虫活性测试，利用 GC-MS 分析提取物化学成分。结果表明，该 提取物对 5 株人体肿瘤细胞、乙酰胆碱酯酶、α-葡萄糖苷酶和全齿复活线虫均表现出一定的生物活性。GC-MS 检测鉴 定了其中的 26 个化合物，相对含量为 57.39%，包括 23 个倍半萜类成分，相对含量为 56.72%，1 个 2-(2-苯乙基)色酮 类成分，相对含量为 0.35%。本次对此种国外野生沉香的生物活性和化学成分研究，发现沉香乙醚提取物具有杀线虫 的活性，为更好地开发沉香的药用价值提供了一定的科学依据。     

Fish functional diversity responses following flood pulses in the upper Paraná River floodplain

Flood pulses are the main force driving the dynamics of aquatic communities in floodplains. The responses of communities to environmental changes following flood pulses usually demand a time lag to appear and reach the climax. We assembled a data set of 16 years of fish samplings to assess the relationship between water level and four functional diversity measures, in the upper Paraná River floodplain. Specifically, we approached four aspects of each relationship between water level and functional diversity: nature (positive or negative), sensitivity (response intensity), responsiveness (response delay) and extent (response duration). The nature of the relationship between water level and functional diversity was positive in all cases. Functional richness (FRic) responded right after flood pulses, although with shorter extent. Abundance‐dependent functional measures (evenness—FEve; divergence—FDiv; and Rao's quadratic entropy—Rao's Q) presented delayed responses, reaching peaks more than 1.5 years after flood pulses. Significant effects of floods on fish functional diversity were observed for more than 3 years, although the highest functional diversity was observed with 1.8 years, on average. More importantly, flood pulses had no longer significant effects on functional diversity after 4 years. Regarding conservation strategies in regulated systems, flood events should occur every 2 or 3 years, with adequate timing (October‐November), intensity (up to 450 cm) and duration (at least 50 uninterrupted days). Intervals longer than 3 years or inadequate timing, intensity and duration could dramatically decrease functional diversity and compromise ecosystem services.     

新营养健康资源:白背天葵的研究进展

本文介绍了白背天葵的基本概况,包括生物学特性、来源与分布、栽培种植技术,系统地综述了营养价值、活性物质组成及生物学功效,并从中医学理论对其药理作用进行了阐述。此外,全面分析了白背天葵的研发现状及存在的问题,并对其研究前景进行了相应的展望,以期为白背天葵的研发利用提供理论依据,为食品工业的发展提供新的动力。