Ultrastructure and stereology of leukocytes and platelets of normal foxes and a fox with a Chediak-Higashi-like syndrome

Peripheral blood leukocytes and platelets from five normal foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and a fox with phenotypical characteristics of Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) were examined by electron microscopy. Lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and platelets from the affected fox contained giant membrane-bound granules that resembled lysosomes. In eosinophils and neutrophils from the affected fox and a normal fox, relative cell volume occupied by granules and number of granules per unit area were calculated. Relative cell volume occupied by granules was the same in both foxes, but there were significantly fewer granules per unit area in the affected fox. This result is consistent with the idea that the giant granules arose from fusion of pre-existing, normal-sized granules, as occurs in CHS. In platelets from the affected fox, no osmiophilic granules were seen. Our findings agree with those from studies of CHS-affected blood cells in other species.     

韭菜花芽分化过程及解剖学特征研究

为明确韭菜花芽的分化过程及内部结构特征,掌握不同类型韭菜的生殖生长周期,选用深休眠韭菜品种‘平韭2号’、浅休眠韭菜品种‘四季青’和‘薹韭’的三年生植株为试验材料,采用石蜡切片技术,观察韭菜茎尖生长点的变化。结果表明：可将韭菜花芽的分化过程分为4个时期——花芽未分化期、总苞和花序原基分化期、小花原基分化期与花部原基分化期。在统一的栽培条件下,韭菜品种不同,启动花芽分化的日期也不同。浅休眠品种‘四季青’比深休眠品种‘平韭2号’早约28 d,而同为浅休眠类型的‘薹韭’则比‘平韭2号’早约62 d。另外,花芽分化过程中各时期的持续时间在不同品种之间也表现出一定差异。     

Irradiation history of Itokawa regolith material deduced from noble gases in the Hayabusa samples

Noble gas isotopes were measured in three rocky grains from asteroid Itokawa to elucidate a history of irradiation from cosmic rays and solar wind on its surface. Large amounts of solar helium (He), neon (Ne), and argon (Ar) trapped in various depths in the grains were observed, which can be explained by multiple implantations of solar wind particles into the grains, combined with preferential He loss caused by frictional wear of space-weathered rims on the grains. Short residence time of less than 8 million years was implied for the grains by an estimate on cosmic-ray-produced (21)Ne. Our results suggest that Itokawa is continuously losing its surface materials into space at a rate of tens of centimeters per million years. The lifetime of Itokawa should be much shorter than the age of our solar system.     

Rigidin E,a New Pyrrolopyrimidine Alkaloid from a Papua New Guinea Tunicate Eudistoma Species

A new pyrrolopyrimidine alkaloid, rigidin E (1) and the known metabolites rigidin (2) and 1-methylherbipoline (3) have been isolated from a Papua New Guinea tunicate Eudistoma sp. A combination of spectroscopic data were used to determine the structures of these metabolites.     

改进PSO算法在电力系统无功优化中的应用

介绍一种改进粒子群的无功优化方法。采用简化粒子群优化方程和添加极值扰动算子两种策略加以改进,提出简化粒子群优化（SPSO）算法、带极值扰动粒子群优化（DPSO）算法,并将二者结合起来提出带极值扰动的简化粒子群优化（DSPSO）算法。以IEEE6节点系统为例进行无功优化计算,并与其他算法进行比较,结果表明：该算法具有较快的收敛速度及较强的全局搜索能力,可较好地解决电力系统的无功优化问题。     

Bottom-up control of a northern Arizona ponderosa pine forest fire regime in a fragmented landscape

Fire regimes often vary at fine spatial scales in response to factors such as topography or fuels while climate usually synchronizes fires across broader scales. We investigated the relative influence of top-down and bottom-up controls on fire occurrence in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests in a highly fragmented landscape at Mount Dellenbaugh, in northwestern Arizona. Our study area of 4,000?ha was characterized by patches of ponderosa pine forest in drainages that were separated by a matrix of pinyon?Cjuniper woodlands, sagebrush shrublands, and perennial grasslands. We reconstructed fire histories from 135 fire-scarred trees in sixteen 25-ha sample sites placed in patches of mature ponderosa forest. We found that, among patches of ponderosa forest, fires were similar in terms of frequency but highly asynchronous in terms of individual years. Climate synchronized fire but only across broader spatial scales. Fires occurring at broader scales were associated with dry years that were preceded by several wet years. The remarkable level of asynchrony at finer scales suggests that bottom-up factors, such as site productivity and fuel continuity, were important in regulating fire at Mount Dellenbaugh. Understanding where bottom-up controls were historically influential is important for prioritizing areas that may best respond to fuel treatment under a warming climate.     

Evaluation of Pyridoacridine Alkaloids in a Zebrafish Phenotypic Assay

Three new minor components, the pyridoacridine alkaloids 1-hydroxy-deoxyamphimedine (1), 3-hydroxy-deoxyamphimedine (2), debromopetrosamine (3), and three known compounds, amphimedine (4), neoamphimedine (5) and deoxyamphimedine (6), have been isolated from the sponge Xestospongia cf. carbonaria, collected in Palau. Structures were assigned on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR studies as well as analysis by HRESIMS. Compounds 1–6 were evaluated in a zebrafish phenotype-based assay. Amphimedine (4) was the only compound that caused a phenotype in zebrafish embryos at 30 μM. No phenotype other than death was observed for compounds 1–3, 5, 6.